Senegal’s customs authorities have intercepted a major shipment of counterfeit foreign banknotes valued at over 6 billion CFA francs during an operation in Thiaroye Azur, in the Dakar suburbs.
According to the General Directorate of Customs, the seizure was carried out on April 15 by the Pikine Customs Mobile Brigade, following nearly two weeks of intelligence gathering, surveillance and tracking.
The operation led to the arrest of a suspect at an inn, where he was reportedly preparing to “wash” the fake currency.
The confiscated notes include 35,000 counterfeit bills—15,000 in €500 denominations and 20,000 in $100 notes—bringing the estimated total to 6.024 billion CFA francs.
The suspect, identified as a Senegalese national who claimed to be a traditional healer, is believed to be part of a cross-border criminal network operating between Senegal and a neighboring country.
Customs officials described the seizure as the largest of its kind in the fight against currency counterfeiting and reaffirmed their commitment to intensifying efforts against economic and financial crimes across the country and the wider sub-region.
