Senegalese police said on Monday, 12 October, that an investigation was ongoing into a suspect's death in custody at Parcelles Assainies police station in Dakar. A statement from the police communications service, reported by the Senegalese Press Agency (APS), came two days after the man was found motionless in his cell.
According to that account, he was discovered at about 4am on Saturday, 10 October, and taken by firefighters to a medical facility where his death was confirmed. He was one of two people arrested during an operation in Dakar's Yoff neighbourhood by the central office responsible for combating illicit drug trafficking.
Police said the two had been detained on suspicion of possessing and trafficking crack cocaine after 28 rocks of the drug were seized. The APS report provided neither their names nor their ages. Their arrest does not amount to a conviction.
Police attributed the death to an acute myocardial infarction associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, citing autopsy findings in the statement. They said toxicology and histopathology samples had also been taken to complete the medical investigation. The statement did not give results for those additional tests or announce that the investigation had concluded.
