The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Omar Wally
26 May 2011
Operatives of the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA) with the assistance of the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) at Mandinaba Police Station Tuesday impounded a green Toyota Pick-Up with Registration No: 6325 F loaded with cannabis.
The vehicle was coming from Foni and heading towards the Greater Banjul Area. Four men have so far been arrested in connection to the case. The four -Musa Samura, the owner of the vehicle; First Class Modou Camara, a military personnel attached to the Yundum Military Barracks; Mamudu Secka alias Pro; and Ebrima Jallow alias Brandi are in currently in custody and helping the NDEA in their investigations. Confirming the incident to reporters Tuesday at the NDEA office in Banjul, ASP Abdoulie Ceesay, public relations officer of the Agency said that on the 12th May 2011, while NDEA operatives at Sibanor Station were on duty together with PIU officers, a vehicle with Registration No. 6325F Toyota Pick-Up, with green tinted glasses drove up to the checkpoint and failed to stop. “The massage was transmitted immediately to the PIU officers at Faraba Sutu Checkpoint who were on alert and upon arrival of the same vehicle, the driver of the said vehicle failed to stop again,” he said.
According to him, the PIU officers then fired two warning shots but still, the driver refused to stop. Ceesay said the officers then transmitted the information to their colleagues at Mandinaba Police Station where both NDEA and PIU officers were on duty at the time, and were on high alert waiting for the said vehicle. He continued: “After some time, the vehicle never appeared and later the officers received a tip-off that the driver diverted the vehicle and took the back way in order to [evade] the checkpoint. The officers then took Mandinaba Station vehicle and went in search of the suspected vehicle.” The NDEA spokesperson further explained that the officers upon arriving in Kembujeh found the said vehicle fueling at the Jah Oil Filling. He said immediately the suspects saw the officers, they took off with the vehicle.
“The suspects where then chased by the officers and later the vehicle was found abandoned in Serrekundading, a village in West Coast Region. The vehicle was then searched by officers and they discovered 86 bundles of cannabis contained in nine bags at the carrier of the vehicle. The said vehicle was then taken to Brikama Police Station for further investigation,” he added. Asked how the four suspects were arrested because at the time the vehicle was impounded there was no occupant, Ceesay disclosed that the officers recovered a suspected blue military beret in the vehicle and a diary. He explained that the two items including the vehicle registration number aided the investigators in arresting the four suspects.
Asked if the arrested persons were the people who abandoned the vehicle containing the cannabis, the NDEA spokesperson stated that some of the suspects admitted, with some of them confessing how much cannabis that belonged to them among the 86 bundles, while others are yet to admit. He then stated that three suspects are still at large. The three, according to him, are: Mamadi Jarju, the driver of the vehicle whose identity card and driving licence are with investigators; Mustapha Secka alias Tafa Taylor; and one Omar alias ego.
The anti-narcotics agency PRO called on the general public to be vigilant and warned that anyone found aiding the three suspects will be charged with aiding and abetting, stressing that it is a criminal offence to aid anyone who commits an offence. “If the three suspects’ hiding place is known to anybody, let it be reported to the nearest police station,” he directed. Ceesay then made it clear that the fight against drugs has no boundary, pointing out that law enforcement officers are expected to uphold and respect it, regardless of which security formation they belong to.
He adde: “We are urging our fellow security officers to desist from illegal activity particularly drug peddling. If anyone is caught, the person will be treated as any other person. “When security officers are involved in drug dealing, it has a negative impact on the security in general. They are expected to serve as role models and it is always embarrassing when security officers are involved in drugs. Therefore, anyone caught will be exposed for others to learn as a lesson that no one is above the law. Exposing them may serve as a deterrent for others.”
In a similar but different case, one Sheikh Omar Jammeh, a Gambian resident in Kololi was also arrested on 8th May 2011 with 32 parcels of suspected cannabis by National Intelligence Agency (NIA) operatives acting on a tip-of. Ceesay said that the NIA acted upon the information they received that the accused had in his possession suspected cannabis. He said the house of Jammeh was searched and one kilogram two hundred and forty grams of cannabis was discovered. He said the suspect was arrested and the NIA contacted the NDEA Serrekunda office where he was handed over, cautioned and charged for further action
One Yankuba Joof, a 49-year-old Senegalese national was also arrested at Banjul ferry terminal by NDEA operatives with eight big bundles of suspected cannabis weighing thirteen kilograms, three hundred and sixty grams.
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Continued here:
NDEA Impounds Vehicle Loaded With Cannabis Military Personnel Among Those Arrested