On August 7, 2025, the Guédiawaye Central Police Station arrested an individual suspected of belonging to a SIM card fraud network, following an alert from the Sonatel agency head.

Living at the Zac Mbao Post Office and presenting himself as a businessman, the suspect aroused the suspicions of the staff at the Sonatel branch in Guédiawaye by presenting questionable documents: two copies of identity cards, a NINEA number, and a SIM card recovery request. The suspicious branch manager immediately alerted the police, who made the arrest.

The investigation revealed that this was not the individual's first attempt. On July 29, 2025, he presented himself at the Sonatel branch in Keur Massar with a falsified French identity card, a legalized power of attorney, and a copy of an ECOWAS document in his name, obtaining a SIM card without suspicion. On August 4, a similar attempt at the Rufisque branch failed when the agent refused.

While in police custody, the suspect confessed to acting on the instructions of a former colleague he met in Morocco. Their scheme involved fraudulently retrieving SIM cards, setting up banking apps (Wave, Orange Money, etc.) on a phone in their possession, and then resetting the access codes to make money transfers to an Orange Money account, followed by withdrawals.

During the arrest, authorities seized two copies of identity cards, a NINEA, a SIM recovery request, and an ECOWAS national identity card. The investigation is continuing to identify possible accomplices and dismantle the network.