A man arrested at the border between Benin and Togo last March appeared before the Court for the Suppression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (CRIET) on Monday, August 4, 2025, facing charges related to smuggling agricultural products and failing to declare a large sum of cash.
The accused was intercepted on March 21, 2025, while transporting bags of soybeans and cashew nuts in a vehicle crossing from Togo into Benin.
Customs officials found that the goods had not been declared, and a search revealed nearly 29 million CFA francs in cash, which the man could not justify.
At the hearing, the public prosecutor demanded a two-year prison sentence, with one year to be served immediately, along with a fine of two million CFA francs. The prosecutor also requested full confiscation of the 29 million CFA francs seized during the arrest.
The defendant denied ownership of the smuggled goods, claiming to have acted only as an intermediary for a third party whose identity he could not disclose.
Regarding the cash, he insisted he was carrying just under five million CFA francs, an amount below the legal threshold for mandatory declaration.
However, the special prosecutor’s office rejected these explanations, arguing that the evidence clearly established the defendant’s involvement and that the seized money was directly connected to the customs offense.
Defence lawyers pushed for a full acquittal, maintaining that the case file did not conclusively prove their client’s direct participation in smuggling. They further requested, in the absence of evidence of fraudulent origin, that the funds be returned.
The court’s verdict is expected on October 20, 2025.
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