Jaboot hijacking in Mamelles: the "twelfth man" arrested at the Gambian border

On the run since December 2023 following the dismantling of an alleged dairy product embezzlement network at Mamelles Jaboot, P. Diatta was finally arrested at the Gambian border. Tried by the Pikine-Guédiawaye court, the 41-year-old former warehouse worker was sentenced to two years in prison, one of which is a mandatory minimum, and fined 500,000 CFA francs.

According to L'Observateur, which attended the hearing, P. Diatta was the last of the twelve agents prosecuted in this case, his co-defendants having already been sentenced to two years in prison which they have since served.

The alleged scheme relied on the falsification of around forty transfer slips in order to fraudulently remove products from warehouses before reselling them via cold storage facilities.

The file mentions "25.119 million CFA francs" linked to the 40 disputed vouchers, while the overall damage alleged by the company is estimated at 104 million, according to the same source.

In court, the newspaper continues, P. Diatta denied fleeing, explaining that he had resigned before going to Kaolack and then Casamance for medical treatment. He also denied creating the false vouchers, claiming that he simply "received the documents, processed the transfers, and signed them."

The court acquitted him of forgery and use of forged public documents, but found him guilty on the remaining charges. The newspaper, part of the Groupe Futurs Médias, reports that he will also have to pay 15 million in damages to the company Les Mamelles Jaboot, which had claimed 30 million.