An electrical cable theft network has just been dismantled by the Kaolack gendarmerie's Research Brigade. Two drivers from a company, a security guard, and two receivers were arrested after the theft of nearly 700 meters of cables intended for the extension of the electrical network in certain neighborhoods of Kaolack. The five alleged criminals were brought before the prosecutor's office this Tuesday.

August 2025: Unloading of electrical equipment in Kaolack

ETM (Entreprise de Travaux Modernes), a subcontractor of SENELEC, was responsible for carrying out electrical extensions in certain districts of Kaolack, notably in Koundam and Kanda. Since last August, the company had been unloading reels of electrical cables at the various sites for the work.

Night of October 10-11: The Daring Flight

On the night of October 10-11, 2025, while the ETM company had deposited cable reels in the commune of Kaolack, more precisely in Kanda, two of its drivers took action. Mr. Ndiaye and Mr. Ndour stole two reels: one of 371 meters and the other of 323 meters, for a total of 694 meters of electric cables according to Seneweb sources.

They acted with the complicity of I. Mbodj, a former soldier who became a security guard at a gas station in Kaolack. It was he who spotted the equipment before notifying the two drivers in question.

To transport the loot, the thieves used a company truck. Around 3 a.m., some residents of the Kanda neighborhood heard the cables being loaded and the noise of the vehicle, but out of fear, no one dared go out to investigate. Fortunately, surveillance cameras installed in front of a hardware store filmed the truck transporting the loot.

Heading to Dakar to sell the goods

Once their crime was accomplished, the three accomplices left for Dakar to sell the stolen goods. The loot was deposited with B. Djigal, a broker residing in the Medina.

The latter quickly managed to find a client in the person of Mrs. M. Diop, a business manager working in the electrical sector. The cables were sold to her at 10,000 francs per meter, while the market price was 18,000 francs per meter.

Barely purchased, Mrs. M. Diop resold the cables the same day for 17,000 francs per meter to a contractor, thus making a quick profit on this stolen merchandise.

The investigation that confounds the thieves

Following the filing of a complaint by the ETM company against X with the Research Brigade of the Kaolack gendarmerie company, an investigation has been opened.

Using surveillance camera footage, investigators were able to identify the company truck that transported the stolen electrical cables. The technical tools used by the police allowed them to locate the phones of the two drivers at the scene of the theft on the night of the crime, around 3 a.m., when they were supposed to be in Sindia, in the Mbour department, where the ETM company is based.

The cascade of arrests

A ride to Sindia allows them to catch the two thieving drivers. Trapped, they immediately confess and recount the robbery in minute detail. They point to B. Djigal as the person who helped them sell the loot.

A transport to Dakar allows the broker to be arrested. Accompanying him, the gendarmes carry out another transport to arrest Mrs. M. Diop. They are all taken under heavy escort to the premises of the Kaolack Research Brigade, commanded by Chief Warrant Officer Modou Ndiaye.

Deferral to the prosecution

The five alleged offenders were brought before the Kaolack High Court on Tuesday. They are being prosecuted for:

- Criminal association, theft in a group committed at night with use of a vehicle to the detriment of their employer: for the two drivers Mr. Ndiaye and Mr. Ndour.

-Complicity: for the security guard I. Mbodj

Concealment: for the broker B. Djigal and the lady M. Diop.