The Court for the Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (CRIET) delivered a landmark ruling on Thursday, August 14, 2025, in a high-profile international drug trafficking case that exploited unsuspecting travelers at Cotonou airport.
Central to the case was a young woman who became an unwitting participant in a trafficking network. She had agreed to transport a suitcase, believed to contain tropical products, to Paris. Upon arrival, customs authorities discovered narcotics in her luggage, resulting in her arrest and heavy fines.
Later, after learning that the network operating in Benin had been dismantled, she filed a civil suit before CRIET seeking 500 million CFA francs in compensation for the ordeal.
The Court recognised her victimhood but awarded only partial compensation.
The main defendant, identified as the head of the trafficking ring and posing as an exporter of tropical goods, was ordered to pay 153.4 million CFA francs in damages.
He was found guilty of “high-risk drug trafficking” and “money laundering,” receiving a 14-year prison sentence and a 100 million CFA franc fine.
In addition, his assets—including 16 million CFA francs, 80,000 euros, multiple vehicles, and properties in Benin and abroad—were confiscated by the State.
The verdict also addressed accomplices within the network.
A police officer and a soldier implicated for attempted fraud and influence peddling received one-year prison sentences each, along with fines of one million CFA francs.
Three other defendants were sentenced to between 12 and 60 months in prison, while several individuals were acquitted or given the benefit of the doubt.
Prosecutors detailed how the network systematically used travellers, predominantly women, to smuggle narcotics under the pretext of exporting tropical products. During searches of the main defendant’s residence, authorities seized 18.45 kilograms of cocaine, highlighting the scale and sophistication of the operation.
CRIET’s ruling underscores the court’s determination to hold both criminal masterminds and complicit officials accountable, while providing redress to those inadvertently caught in the web of international drug trafficking.
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