Chinese robbery: A former police officer and a journalist at the heart of a 70 million FCFA theft, the trial of a night of terror

The case of the armed robbery of a store owned by Chinese national Ai Minghui in the Allées du Centenaire shopping center was heard on April 14th in the Dakar Criminal Court. Four defendants appeared in court: Mr. Gassama, a former police officer; MB Thiam, 39, a journalist; A. Wade, 37, a tailor; and C. Tall, 39, a carpenter. They are being prosecuted for criminal conspiracy, armed robbery committed at night with the use of vehicles, weapons, and violence, impersonating a police officer, and assaulting a police officer.

According to the order of partial dismissal, indictment and referral to the criminal chamber, issued by the investigating judge of the first chamber of the Dakar court, following the investigation report n°291/DIC, the events date back to the year 2020. On August 3, the elements of the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) had opened an investigation following the dissemination of a video on social networks showing a burglary scene in a store located in the Allées du Centenaire, committed by four individuals one of whom, with his face uncovered, was identified as Mr. Gassama, alias "Gueuse", former police officer.

The investigation revealed that the perpetrators were armed, had used violence (punching and kicking) against those present in the store, and had stolen 70,000,000 FCFA, two mobile phones, and a power bank. Outside, another individual, the fifth, was waiting for them in a Hyundai vehicle.

The investigation led to the arrest of M. Gassama and C. Tall. During questioning, they admitted to participating in the burglary. They implicated their accomplices A. Wade, M. Cissokho, M. Thiam, and A. Diagne. Furthermore, they stated that MB Thiam was driving the vehicle and was waiting outside with M. Cissokho, an acquaintance of the victims, who had provided them with information to carry out the crime.

The search of Gassama revealed 1,570,000 FCFA, which he claimed was the remainder of his share of the loot, estimated at 8,000,000 FCFA. He used this money to purchase a 2013 Ford Fusion, license plate AA-373-AE, for 4,500,000 FCFA. The vehicle was seized and impounded as part of the investigation.

C. Tall stated that he met Gassama three weeks before the events through A. Diagne. Recounting the circumstances, he indicated that on Monday, July 20, 2020, around 6:00 p.m., Diagne contacted him to propose a "business deal" and showed up at his home that same day accompanied by Mr. Gassama. At that point, he asked him to accompany them the next day to the Allées du Centenaire to "issue tickets" to some Chinese merchants and to present himself as a police officer, just like Gassama, which he agreed to.

The robbery video

C. Tall recounted the events of the burglary. He explained that on July 21, 2020, around 7:00 p.m., the aforementioned individual called him back and asked him to meet him in front of the Sacré-Cœur school. Upon arrival, he found him in a vehicle with Mr. Gassama and other individuals. They then left the school to go to the plaintiff's store. When they arrived, Mohamed Gassama entered first, showing a fake business ID card to the security guard and declaring, "This is the police." He was followed by himself and A. Wade and A. Diagne.

Next, they held the employees found on the premises at bay, namely four Chinese employees and the Senegalese guard, whom they forced to stand in a crouching position.

After that, he went out to keep watch at the request of A. Diagne, who joined him a few moments later with the others in possession of a suitcase which they told him contained money.

Having made this observation, they got back into the vehicle driven by MB Thiam to go to the Jet d'Eau roundabout where they divided the loot. He stated that he received 6,415,000 francs.

When questioned about the total amount stolen, he said he was unable to answer since he had simply received his share from A. Diagne. Furthermore, he stated that the weapon used to threaten the victims was a replica and belonged to A. Wade.

Mr. Gassama, confirming this version of events, also stated that he had been contacted by A. Diagne to participate in the robbery. It was in this context that he joined the group, before Mr. Cissokho explained the "deal" to them, which consisted of robbing the store of the Chinese woman nicknamed "Amy," with whom he claimed to have an excellent relationship, having given her French lessons for several years and whose premises he knew perfectly.

He further confirmed the acts of impersonation and violence, adding that he was in communication with Mr. Cissokho who was telling him where the money was being kept.

Returning to the division of tasks, he indicated that C. Tall and he were responsible for finding the money, M. Thiam for transporting it and facilitating their escape, M. Cissokho for helping them locate the cash receipts, and finally, A. Wade and A. Diagne for subduing the people on site and dismantling the hard drive of the surveillance cameras to prevent their identification. Unfortunately, they mistook the hard drive for the power bank.

After their crime, they went to Mr. Cissokho's home in Sacré-Cœur where the loot was divided, with each receiving 8,000,000 francs or more.

Located in Ziguinchor and arrested, MB Thiam admitted to having dropped off his co-accused at the Allées du Centenaire and to having returned to the scene to pick them up.

When questioned in turn, A. Diagne made detailed confessions about his participation in the events, specifying that Mr. Gassama, Mr. Cissokho and A. Wade proceeded to divide the loot, while the other members, including himself, had received only the sum of 5 million.

However, he maintained that he had no knowledge of their criminal plan and had acted at the request of his friend Mr. Gassama.

When questioned, A. Wade admitted to the acts and named Mr. Thiam as their accomplice. Furthermore, he stated that the replica weapon he possessed had been knowingly given to him by a certain Mr. Gueye, alias "General," in exchange for one million francs. When questioned, Mr. Gueye denied the accusations.

Mr. Cissokho was not arrested.

The store owner, Ai Minghui, stated that on July 21, 2020, after leaving work around 8 p.m., she received a phone call from her employee Guo Yu around 10 p.m. asking her to return to the store immediately.

Upon arriving at the scene, her employees informed her that the assailants had forced them to squat before questioning them about their belongings. Feeling threatened, they had no choice but to allow the assailants to inventory the goods in the store.

Mr. Zhang Kai, an employee of the plaintiff, stated that on July 21, 2020, at 10:00 p.m., while he and his colleagues were on the first floor reviewing the daily takings, he heard voices coming from the ground floor. Going downstairs to investigate, he found four intruders, one of whom had his face uncovered.

He claimed that one of them, wearing a yellow t-shirt and light blue jeans, was carrying a firearm which he had used to force them into a crouching position. He also heard the man whose face was uncovered talking on the phone, his caller telling him to go upstairs where the takings were kept.

Two criminals forced their colleague Sun Li to show them his room, where they took a suitcase containing 70,000,000 FCFA before going back downstairs. After speaking at length in Wolof, they left in a black vehicle, also taking a gold iPhone X Max mobile phone.

His colleagues Sun Li, Guo Yu, Sun Yali and Gao Yu confirmed his statements and added that the criminals had presented themselves to the guard as police officers.

They stated that after insisting on entering under the pretext of delivering a summons to their boss, they ended up gaining entry to the premises by forcing a back door.

When charged, Mr. Gassama recanted his confession, explaining that he had been approached by Mr. Cissokho, who had told him that a Chinese woman owed him 1,300,000 FCFA in back wages. After suggesting that he contact the gendarmerie, he ultimately agreed to help him recover his money.

The investigating judge also noted that a type of death certificate no. 03, established on March 29, 2022, attests that the accused A. Diagne died on that date from illness after hospitalization at Fann Hospital.

Mr. Gassama breaks an ASP's arm and escapes during his police custody

Mr. Gassama and C. Tall are also charged with assaulting a police officer resulting in injury. The case file indicates that on August 1, 2020, while in custody at the Plateau police station, Mr. Gassama took advantage of the cell door being opened to shove community security officer C. Manga, causing him to break his right arm and suffer injuries to his forehead, before fleeing. He was arrested at the home of a local official in Plateau. These events were corroborated by C. Tall, who admitted to hitting the officer's head against the door, causing him to fall.

Before the judge, the defendants all denied the charge of conspiracy. MB Thiam, a journalist, stated that he only knew the deceased A. Diagne. He explained that he had simply led the group without knowing their criminal intent.

A. Wade indicated that he acted at the request of A. Diagne and received 5 million after the events.

C. Tall maintains that he believed he was participating in a drug seizure operation and admits to having received 6.4 million.

For his part, Mr. Gassama denied the facts in court despite the projection of CCTV images.

Me Weber, for the civil party, requested that the accused be jointly and severally ordered to pay 100,000,000 FCFA in damages.

The prosecutor requested 10 years of criminal imprisonment for Mr. Gassama and 6 years for the other defendants.

Attorney Moussa Konaté pleaded for acquittal on the charge of criminal conspiracy, arguing that his client's good faith and cooperation should be rewarded. Attorney Emmanuel Diatta pleaded for leniency. Attorney Ousmane Diallo, representing C. Tall, also requested leniency.

Attorney Ousseynou Gaye, representing MB Thiam, argued that the interrogation served as a truth test for his client, who, through a series of circumstances, transported the entire group at the request of his late friend, A. Diagne. While all the other participants received at least 6 million francs, Thiam received only 150,000 francs from Diagne as repayment of a loan. Attorney Gaye pleaded for acquittal.

The case has been adjourned for deliberation until May 12th.