The Thiès court of flagrant offenses examined, this Friday, April 24, 2026, a case of alleged theft of scrap metal and complicity in theft involving the scrap dealer SF Fall and Mr. Ndiaye, agent of the weighbridge of the company Ciments de l'Afrique (CIMAF).

 

According to the investigation, SF Fall is suspected of having fraudulently loaded several tons of scrap metal onto the company's premises, allegedly with the complicity of Mr. Ndiaye. The alleged offenses include the issuance of an initially erroneous delivery slip, listing wood instead of scrap metal, before the error was corrected by the employee in question. This situation has raised concerns within the company, which claims to have observed similar irregularities in the past.

 

The police, having been notified, arrested the two defendants, who were subsequently placed on provisional release before their appearance before the court.

 

In court, the two defendants denied the charges. SF Fall claimed to have regularly purchased the scrap metal and to have paid CIMAF's accounting department a sum corresponding to 19.5 tons of scrap metal recorded during weighing. He maintained that the disputed receipt resulted from an error by the weighbridge operator and that he had not paid attention to it.

 

For his part, Mr. Ndiaye acknowledged a misunderstanding regarding the nature of the cargo, stating that he initially believed it was wood, before correcting the delivery note once informed. He emphasized that he had not been notified in advance by his superiors about the nature of the truck's cargo and that another CIMAF agent was present during the loading process.

 

The defense argued that no theft or complicity had been committed, suggesting instead an internal dysfunction within the CIMAF company. The defendants' lawyers emphasized that SF Fall had paid the accounting department an amount corresponding to the quantity of scrap metal found in the truck. The defense therefore pleaded for the outright acquittal of the defendants.

 

For his part, the lawyer for the plaintiff argued that the acts were deliberate and well-established. He therefore demanded 90 million FCFA in damages.

 

The deputy public prosecutor, for his part, considered the facts established and requested a three-month suspended prison sentence against the two defendants.

 

The court has taken the case under advisement. The verdict is expected on April 29, 2026.