Proche de Ben Laden, 23-Juin, Cheikh Béthio Thioune : comment la BIP a désamorcé ces affaires explosives
In a report dedicated to the BIP, Commissioner Masserigne Faye, who led this elite unit of the national police from 2009 to 2013, looks back on three explosive cases that his men defused with tact.
In 2010, a Bin Laden connection landed in Dakar. Hunted by the United States, the man was due to land at Léopold Senghor Airport, which had become a military base. He had evaded German and Belgian border police. "The American authorities asked their Senegalese counterparts to arrest him," recounts Commissioner Faye in his story, as reported by Les Échos. The only information relayed to the members of the BIP (Brigade d'Intervention de la Protection - Protection Brigade) who formed the welcoming committee was that the suspect had shaved his head three days earlier. Seizing on this lead, the agents of the elite unit deployed to the site as soon as the plane carrying Bin Laden's associate landed and began surveillance. During his journey, he changed clothes three times. Suspicion grew. But the BIP refrained from intervening. "We preferred to wait until the last minute to find out if someone had come to pick him up," reveals Masserigne Faye. The strategy proved successful: the suspect was met by an individual driving a vehicle with Mauritanian license plates. Both men were arrested and taken to the Port police station. FBI agents later arrived in Dakar to retrieve the package and commend the BIP's work.
June 23, 2011: Wade's power was faltering. The second peaceful transfer of power was less than a year away. Opposition forces and civil society formed a united front against the liberal regime. Tensions were high in Dakar and several cities in the interior of the country. "The country had almost collapsed. We were then asked to intervene," recalls Commissioner Masserigne Faye, then head of the BIP (Brigade d'Intervention Pénitentiaire - Intervention Brigade). In the Parcelles Assainies district, they recovered the safe from the local tax and land registry office, which protesters had stolen and were dragging through the streets. In the city center, several high-ranking officials trapped in their offices had to be extracted. "I can mention, among others, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, Madické Niang, and the President of the Senate at the time, Pape Diop. They were evacuated by the BIP from their offices to their homes," says the former head of the Brigade.
2013, the Thiantacône uprising. In his testimony, the former commander of the BIP (Intervention Brigade) identified the Cheikh Béthio Thioune case as one of the BIP's most delicate missions. After his incarceration in February 2013 for the double murder in Médinatoul Salam, the marabout shuttled between the Thiès prison and the hospital in Dakar where he was receiving treatment. "When Cheikh Béthio had to leave the prison to come to the hospital, we had to manage a crowd that desperately wanted to see him," recounts Commissioner Faye. "One day," continues the former BIP commander, "the tension escalated. There were hundreds of talibés armed with clubs in front of the [health] facility. We absolutely had to avoid a confrontation." The police chief sent one of his vehicles toward Independence Square. The Thiantacônes, completely unaware that it was a ruse, pursued the car. "It was at that moment that I got the vehicle, in which Sheikh Béthio was actually located, out via the Corniche." Cunning was also necessary during the marabout's evacuation to France. The BIP convinced Air France officials to agree to board the Thiantacônes' leader at 4:00 PM for a flight scheduled for 11:00 PM. Commissioner Faye: "If we had waited for the normal boarding time, it would have been virtually impossible to evacuate him without confrontations."
Commentaires (12)
Soyons sérieux , le Sénégal ne cesse pas d’être en danger du fait des politiciens, des milices et autres criminels.
Restez vigilants , ce pays nous appartient et rien ni personne ne doit le déstabiliser.
Bravo au FDS
Bonne année
Participer à la Discussion
Règles de la communauté :
💡 Astuce : Utilisez des emojis depuis votre téléphone ou le module emoji ci-dessous. Cliquez sur GIF pour ajouter un GIF animé. Collez un lien X/Twitter ou TikTok pour l'afficher automatiquement.