Agents of the Ogooué-Maritime provincial branch of Gabon’s Office central anti-drogue (OCAD), the central anti-drug office, arrested 30-year-old Georges Mapessi in Port-Gentil on 26 August 2026.[1] They found him at about 8 a.m. in the Matanda neighbourhood on information passed to OCAD agents, and he then led them to his home in Siby for a search.[1] OCAD said it had been looking for him over suspected sales of cannabis to Jessy Mambougou Babissa, who was already held at Port-Gentil prison.[1]

The search at the Siby home turned up ten “cuisses” of cannabis, a local unit of pressed or bundled cannabis, which he acknowledged owning.[1] According to his account, a former friend nicknamed “Damso” approached him in Lambaréné and later sent a parcel hidden inside a peanut sack among other foodstuffs, which Mapessi collected at Port-Gentil port.[1] He said the cannabis stayed at his home about two weeks before he divided it into 16 cuisses, six of which had already been sold at 25,000 CFA francs each, 150,000 CFA francs in total, while the other ten were seized.[2] OCAD also found 30,000 CFA francs in cash on him.[1]

In front of journalists he denied being an experienced trafficker, saying of the parcel, “I did not know what was inside when the goods arrived. My mistake was keeping it.”[3] Jessy Mambougou Babissa, already held at Port-Gentil, is described as having been asked to help sell the cannabis, with her exact role still under investigation.[2] After appearing before a judge, Mapessi was remanded to Port-Gentil prison on 31 August 2026.[2] Investigators were still trying to identify the supplier nicknamed “Damso” and the exact origin of the drug.[2]