Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – The Research Brigade of the Keur Massar gendarmerie company has arrested Pape Cheikh Diallo, a television presenter with the private broadcaster TFM, as part of an ongoing LGBT criminal investigation, according to information from the Senegalese media.

Mr. Diallo, 44, who hosts the programme Quartier Général and is legally named Cheikh Ahmadou Tidiane Diallo, was taken into custody on Friday following allegations linking him to what investigators describe as a network accused of engaging in LGBT-prohibited acts under Senegalese law.

According to Seneweb, the case widened after the earlier arrest of banker Doudou Lamine Dieng, who reportedly identified Mr. Diallo during questioning.

Investigators were told that the two had lived together as a couple. The same source reports that, during his interrogation, the TFM TV star acknowledged the allegations put to him by investigators.

Twelve Suspects in Custody

In total, twelve individuals have been arrested in the operation carried out by the Keur Massar Research Brigade. Sources close to the investigation claim that seven of those detained were believed by investigators to be living with HIV/AIDS, though authorities have not publicly released medical confirmations.

All suspects have been placed in police custody on charges including criminal conspiracy, “unnatural acts” as defined by the penal code, alleged voluntary transmission of HIV/AIDS through unprotected sexual intercourse, and endangering the lives of others.

Prosecutor Saliou Dicko, head of the Pikine–Guédiawaye public prosecutor’s office, has now been handed over the case.

The investigation is still ongoing. The Dakar Gendarmerie Legion, under the command of Colonel Malick Faye, said it is intensifying efforts to combat urban delinquency and crime in all their forms.

Authorities as well as TFM TV have yet to comment publicly on the case.