Benin – smuggling of tropical products: a commissioner and 3 customs officers face up to two years in prison
The case of smuggling tropical products in Kassouala, in the commune of Tchaourou, continues to make waves.
The public prosecutor’s office at the Court for the Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (CRIET) on Thursday, 6 November 2025, sought prison sentences against several police and customs officers involved in the case.
It all started with the discovery, in a yard in Kassouala near the Nigerian border, of several trucks loaded with tropical products destined for export. According to the prosecutor’s submissions, these goods, notably soybeans and cashew nuts, were part of an illegal trafficking network operating outside the Beninese administration.
The public prosecutor said the explanations given by the officers arrested did not hold up. The defendants had claimed that the trucks had not yet crossed the border, justifying their presence by saying that Kassouala is an agricultural production area.
Some also said they were unaware of a regulatory provision prohibiting the presence of trucks loaded with tropical products within a five-kilometre radius of the borders.
Following the prosecutor’s submissions, four officers were judged directly responsible for the acts. They are the former commissioner of Kassouala, the former customs post chief and two of his collaborators. The prosecutor sought against them twenty-four months’ imprisonment, including twelve months to be served, together with a fine of two million CFA francs each for abuse of office.
For the twelve other police and customs officers prosecuted, the public prosecutor acknowledged the existence of doubt and requested their acquittal. Money laundering charges were not retained for lack of evidence.
The civil party, represented by the customs administration, demanded more than 737 million CFA francs from the owners of the trucks and the goods, as compensation for damages suffered for violation of the customs code.
The defense lawyers, for their part, pleaded for acquittal, emphasizing the absence of material evidence demonstrating the actual crossing of the border. They also stressed the risks to which officers are exposed during operations against smugglers, often carried out at the risk of their lives.
The verdict is expected on 18 December 2025.
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