By Lamin Fatty
Gambian security forces at the Yorobawol checkpoint in the Wulli West District on Friday, 29 November 2024 intercepted and impounded a Senegalese truck allegedly loaded with fertilizer from the Gambia.
An eyewitness who was at that particular checkpoint at the time of the incident said the fertilizer was loaded from the Basse GGC depot (Gom) and was supposed to be transported to Senegal.
“I was present when everything happened at the checkpoint,” the eyewitness told Foroyaa.
He said he found the truck which carried a Senegalese number plate at the checkpoint while he was about to pass. He explained intelligence personnel from the State Intelligence Service (SIS) at the said checkpoint asked the driver about what was loaded in the truck and the driver disclosed that the truck was carrying fertilizer.
“The officer then asked where that fertilizer was loaded from and where it was going. The driver replied that he loaded the fertilizer from the Basse GGC depot and was transporting it to Njoben CRR for one Alhagie Omar Secka and the driver showed a document where it is indicated that the destination of the fertilizer was Njoben,” the eyewitness explained.
The eyewitness narrated that even with the documents, the SIS officer was not convinced because it involved a foreign vehicle.
The officer then demanded the contact of Alhagie Omar Secka to further ascertain the issue.
“When Alhagie Omar Secka was contacted by this officer, he, Alhagie Omar Secka, confirmed that he is the buyer of that fertilizer and he vividly disclosed that the truck was going to Touba in Senegal,” the eyewitness told Foroyaa.
According to the source, the SIS officer then asked the driver to park the truck and after some consultations among the security personnel at the checkpoint, the vehicle was escorted back to Basse for more inquiries.
This reporter tried to reach out to the management of the Food Security, Processing, and Marketing Corporation (FSPMC) formerly called the Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC). Mr. Lamin Sanyang, the deputy managing director said they received the information, which they were investigating.
“We just got the information, but we cannot confirm it as we investigating it, and for now I cannot talk about it,” Lamin Sanyang said.
