Author(s)

Yves Stephane Ipou¹, Bla Désirée Sandrine Ziketo^2*, Dion Aristide Gonce², Gnonsian Estelle Kévine Gahy², Asseman Médard Koua³, Yessonguilana Jean-Marie Yeo-Tenena²

¹Psychiatric Hospital, Bingerville, Ivory Coast.
²Addictology and Mental Hygiene Service, National Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
³Medical Sciences Training and Research Unit, Alassane Ouattara University of Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast.

Far from the financial gains of cyber crooks, the informed observer will see in cyber crookery a complex field of psychopathological expression where addictions and ritualistic practices intermingle. We thus carried out a qualitative observational study, focusing on a young Ivorian cyber-escroc, hard drug user and follower of mystical practices taken in charge by a multidisciplinary team during a resocialization course for children in conflict with the law from November to December 2022. The aim was to describe the difficulties experienced by a young Ivorian cyber crook in escaping the clutches of occult practices, internet addictions and psychoactive substances encountered in the field of cyber crookery. KA is confronted with the problem of cybercrime associated with occult practices and drug addiction. He is a heroin addict and secondary internet addict, undergoing de facto detoxification and presenting risky consumption behaviors. His fear is fuelled by the sudden death of his childhood friend, who introduced him to cyber-scams and occult practices, and the impossibility of returning his “Agbaladai” fetish when he can no longer honor the weekly sacrifices. Our results show an interweaving of psychopathological entities, namely cyberaddiction and addiction to psychoactive substances, against a backdrop of mystico-cultural practices and interpretations.

Cybercrime, Internet Addiction, Heroin Addiction, Occultism

Ipou, Y. , Ziketo, B. , Gonce, D. , Gahy, G. , Koua, A. and Yeo-Tenena, Y. (2024) In the Turmoil of the Cybercriminal Triad, Occult Practices and Toxicomania: The Case of a Young Ivorian Cyber Crook. Open Journal of Psychiatry, 14, 457-466. doi: 10.4236/ojpsych.2024.145027.