O. Seydi, headmaster of Bettenty 1 primary school, was arrested in the act while trying to get 16 would-be illegal immigrants onto a canoe at the Missirah quay.

According to Libération, which broke the story, the incident took place around 11 p.m. on Friday night, when members of the DNLT's Surveillance, Arrest, and Tracking Brigade intercepted a group of migrants about to leave the country illegally. They were accompanied by a smuggler, later identified as the school principal.

When questioned, the candidates—mostly from Gambia—explained that they had been recruited by compatriots who had remained in their country of origin. According to the same source, they stated that they had paid their financial contribution to O. Sarr, alias "Ansou," and A. Ndour, alias "Klaro," presented as the main organizers of the journey. The latter allegedly gave the migrants the phone number of Seydi, who was responsible for welcoming them in Missirah, gathering them, and escorting them to Bettenty, the planned starting point for the crossing.

Interviewed by investigators, the school principal, quoted by Libération, initially denied any involvement, claiming that his number had been used without his knowledge. But his explanations were quickly deemed implausible. The investigation established that his son, along with a nephew of his wife, had already been transported to Europe free of charge a year earlier by the same organizers, via a clandestine trip.

The exploitation of his mobile phone also revealed audio messages exchanged on WhatsApp with a candidate, I. Senghor, and another unidentified individual, attesting to his active role as a recruiter and smuggler.

Faced with this evidence, Seydi finally admitted that he had been informed of the planned trip since last April. He admitted to having secured a place in the canoe for one of his nephews, while denying having received any money, maintaining that the financial contributions had been given directly to the organizers.

Following the investigation, he was brought before the financial prosecutor's office on September 22, charged with migrant trafficking, the daily newspaper concluded.