The Accused at the high court
By Landing Ceesay
Kemo Jaiteh, a member of the Drug Law Enforcement Agency (DLEAG), gave a detailed testimony in court regarding the arrest of four Portuguese nationals, who were found with 30 blocks of cocaine in June 2024.
The accused individuals—Vilma Cabral Roel (1st accused), Ana Patricia Dos Santos Furtodo (2nd accused), Simara Nadiya Martins (3rd accused), and Miriam Maria Mendes (4th accused)—are all Portuguese citizens. They face charges alongside five Gambians: Seedy Ceesay (5th accused), Lamin Ceesay (6th accused), Yaya K. Jatta (7th accused), Modou Bojang (8th accused), and Muhammed Jallow (9th accused).
The Attorney General has filed three criminal charges against the defendants: Aggravated Drug Trafficking under section 43(a) of the Drug Control (Amendment) Act 2011; Dealing with Prohibited Drugs under section 33(1)(c) of the Drug Control Act Cap 13:05, Vol. III Revised Laws of The Gambia 2009; and Conspiracy to Deal with Prohibited Drugs under section 53(1)(a) of the same Act.
Mr. Jaiteh testified that on the day of the incident, he was stationed at the Banjul International Airport as part of his duties with the DLEAG. Currently posted in Basse in the Upper River Region (URR), Jaiteh stated that his role as a narcotics officer involves intercepting drugs and addressing other related crimes.
When asked if he recalled the events of June 29, 2024, he confirmed that he did.
“On the 29th of June 2024 at around 1700 hours, while on duties at the Airport, I saw one of the ladies, that is Ana Patricia Dos Santos Furtodo (2nd accused). I saw her sitting at the restaurant inside the airport upstairs, while I was at the Security Port. Security Port is where all passengers pay $20 before they check in. There I saw these ladies (Vilma Cabral Roel, Ana Patricia Dos Santos Furtodo, Simara Nadiya Martins, Miram Maria Mendes) came in,” Mr Jaiteh told the court. Mr. Jaiteh stated that upon the ladies’ arrival, he checked their passports at the entrance and noticed they were all Portuguese nationals. He added that their behavior appeared suspicious.
“What do you mean when you say they were looking suspicious?” Senior State Counsel Mariama Singhateh asked.
“They all had Portuguese passports, similar age, and travelling without luggage, except for the small cross bags. We checked their names with the Passenger Name Record (PNR). Which also indicates that they have only one PNR,” the witness told the court.
When asked about the significance of the PNR, the witness explained to the court that it serves to indicate the travel itinerary, identifying the passenger or group of passengers traveling together.
The witness added that the primary purpose of the PNR is to determine whether passengers are traveling individually or as part of a group.
“After that, we let them checked in, and mounted surveillance on them. We saw them passing through the Immigration to the departure lounge. We saw them at the departure lounge sitting together. While I was in the departure lounge. I saw them talking among themselves, and the other lady, Ana Patricia Dos Santos Furtodo (2nd accused) was constantly on the phone,” the witness told the court.
“At what time did the four accused persons (Portuguese nationals) complete their checking in?,” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“At around 1800 hours onwards,” the witness told the court. Mr. Jaiteh informed the court that he later observed the Portuguese nationals heading upstairs to the Romich Restaurant located in the business lounge.
“Can you tell the court how long did they stay at the business lounge,” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“I cannot ascertain how long, but they were there until boarding started,” the witness told the court.
When asked about the start time of boarding, the witness informed the court that it began around 7 p.m. in the evening.
Mr. Jaiteh testified that while at the boarding gate, he observed four Portuguese nationals entering a VIP van, while all other passengers boarded the regular van.
He explained that the VIP van is reserved for ministers, state dignitaries, or official guests, and is not for general use. The normal buses, he added, are for all passengers on that particular flight.
“As far as you know, what type of Passport were the accused persons (Portuguese nationals) travelling with?” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“They were all travelling with ordinary passports,” the witness testified.
“You told us that the VIP Van is for Ministers, State dignitaries and state guests, is there an official procedure for passengers to board the VIP Van,” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“As far as I know, there are no official procedures. They negotiate with the protocol officers to accommodate them at the VIP lounge,” he said.
“In this instance, can you tell the court how the accused persons (Portuguese nationals) boarded the VIP Van?,” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“I saw them open the door and went inside the Van,” the witness said.
The witness told the court that when the Portuguese Nationals entered the VIP Van and departed for the foot of the aircraft, they pursued them.
“Why did you decide to pursue the VIP Van to the foot of the aircraft?” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“To ascertain or prove or confirm that these ladies are clean. Because they had been suspicious since I saw them before they boarded a flight. On arrival at the foot of the aircraft, we saw the four ladies alighted from the VIP Van. Talking among themselves, and still looking very suspicious,” the witness said.
“Why did you say that they were still looking very suspicious?,” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“Because they were talking among themselves and looking everywhere,” he said.
The witness testified in court that this was when they approached the four Portuguese nationals, identifying themselves as narcotics officers.
Mr. Jaiteh stated that his narcotics team included Bubacarr Sarr, Ajara Sanneh, Lamin Seckan, Baboucarr Camara, and himself, Kemo Jaiteh.
“As we approached them and identified ourselves, we saw the VIP Van left; Baboucarr Sarr and I pursued the Van; Baboucarr Sarr instructed Ajara Sanneh, Baboucarr Camara and Lamin Seckan to arrest the ladies,” the witness said.
“What was the reaction of the four ladies?” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“They were uncomfortable acting like they are all suspicious and talking among themselves,” he said.
Mr. Jaiteh stated that they communicated with the Portuguese nationals in English.
The witness testified that after following the VIP van to its parking spot, they discovered three pieces of luggage inside.
Mr. Jaiteh explained that these pieces of luggage were marked with designated tags, indicating they had passed through the regular screening process.
He further asserted that they questioned the VIP van driver, Modou Bojang (the 8th accused), about the owner of the luggage.
“Then he (Modou Bojang) said the ladies that alighted from the Van, who are Vilma Cabral Roel (1st accused), Ana Patricia Dos Santos Furtodo (2nd accused), Simara Nadiya Martins (3rd accused), Miram Maria Mendes (4th accused). Then we escorted the VIP Van back to the foot of the aircraft where the ladies alighted.
We asked the Portuguese nationals about the contents of the bags, but they claimed they didn’t know. At that point, Bubacarr Sarr contacted our supervisor, Pa Modou Manneh, to inform him of the situation. Pa Modou instructed us to notify the airline about the three pieces of luggage and the four women, and then take them to our office for a confirmation of the contents,” the witness testified.
Mr. Jaiteh explained that this is standard procedure at the airport—when passengers are either arriving or departing, the airline must be notified.
He further stated that the Portuguese nationals were escorted to their office along with Modou Bojang, where a search of the luggage was conducted.
“Then I searched the luggage and found 10 blocks of cocaine in each of the luggage. In total, we found 30 blocks. A preliminary test was conducted on the blocs using the Spectrometer, a testing machine that we use to test the cocaine. The machine indicates positive, which means the blocs are cocaine. From the preliminary test, they (the accused persons) were interrogated,” the witness told the court.
“Where did the interrogation take place?” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“It took place in our office at the Airport. They (Portuguese Nationals) claimed they were contacted by one British national to transport the said blocs to Barcelona and they will be paid Ten Thousand Euros (€10,000.00) for each of the cocaine blocs,” he said.
Mr. Jaiteh informed the court that the four Portuguese nationals, along with Modou Bojang, were subsequently escorted to the CTI and DLEAG office in Bijilo for further investigation.
“Can you tell the court how you conducted this investigation?,” Counsel Singhateh asked.
“We did it through Vilma Cabral Roel (1st accused), who speaks English among them,” he said.
Mr. Jaiteh testified that after escorting the individuals to the CTI, an arrest was made involving several airport staff members, including Muhammad Jallow, the 9th accused; Modou Bojang, the 8th accused; and Yaya K. Jatta, the 7th accused.
He explained that Muhammad Jallow and Yaya K. Jatta were arrested following their names being mentioned during an interview with Modou Bojang, which was conducted by the Director of the DLEAG.
Mr. Jaiteh stated that Modou Bojang was interviewed around 5 a.m. on June 30, 2024, and that Muhammad Jallow and Yaya K. Jatta were arrested around 8 a.m. on the same day, based on the DLEAG Director’s instructions. All three were arrested at the airport.
The witness clarified that Modou Bojang served as the driver of the VIP Van, while Muhammad Jallow and Yaya K. Jatta were Civil Aviation Security personnel.
The court adjourned the case to December 3, 2024.