By Buba Gagigo
Drug Law Enforcement Agency (DLEAG) informed journalists that police are keeping the almost 3 tons of seized drugs while the suspect Banta Keita remains at large.
Lamin Jorbateh, the Public Relations Officer of the agency told journalists on Monday. He continued that the security personnel in the country are doing everything possible to arrest the suspect.
“I can tell you that the drugs that were seized at the Banjul Port are still with the police and in safe hands,” he informed
Suspect Keita and his suspected local accomplice Sheriff Njie are charged in absentia, by a local court in Banjul on three counts of drug trafficking-related charges. And last month, The Gambia issued an international arrest warrant for Banta Keita and his accomplice, Njie.
Spokesperson Jorbateh made these remarks on Monday at the maiden joint security personnel press conference held at the Police Headquarters in Banjul.
Also speaking at the same joint security press conference Lamin Njie, The Public Relations Officer of The Gambia Police Force said since the inception of Operation Zero Crime, it targets ‘criminal hideouts’ in all parts of the country to minimize the crime rates and has made a lot of arrests.
“We have a total arrest of 881 people for various crimes, and 197 individuals are being tried in court for drug related crimes,” Police PRO said.
He added that 430 individuals were arrested by the Police Anti-Crime unit in different locations; 102 by were arrested by the KM task force; 81 has also been arrested in Banjul by the joint security task force; and 72 were arrested by the Police Intervention Unit between 2nd April to 16th March 2021.
Njie later expressed the security services are ensuring that crimes and criminal activities are seriously dealt with in the country, saying, “we [security services] are ensuring that crimes and criminal activities are dealt with seriously,” he concluded
Subsequently, Mamanding Dibba, the Public Relations Officer for the Immigration Department said a total number of 146 people were handed over to the immigration department from KM and West Coast Region.
He alleged that 146 people committed various immigration related crimes. He continued that those arrested are of Guinean and Bissau Guinean nationals, but majority of them are Guineans and most of the crimes they committed are related to documentation.
Dibba added that some of the arrestees have regularised their stay in the country, while others are still being investigated from which his department derived some revenue.
“We have generated a revenue of D177, 450 from this,” he concluded.
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