…With WRC registering the highest cases
By Ndey Sowe
Ousman Saidybah, the Public Relations Officer of the Drug Law Enforcement Agency- The Gambia (DLEAG) has disclosed that the aforesaid agency has registered a total number of forty-three (43) cases involving fifty-one (51) suspects.
Speaking recently during a monthly situation report on drug cases registered from raids conducted by the agency, from the 1st to 30th September, 2021, Saidybah said of the aforesaid cases, the highest drug seizure was recorded in the West Coast Region.
“For the reporting period being the 1st to 30th September 2021, the agency registered a total number of forty-three (43) cases involving fifty-one (51) suspects. Operatives seized sixty (60) big bundles, two hundred and fourteen (214) parcels and six hundred (600) wraps of suspected Cannabis Sativa. Similarly, a cannabis cultivation site was also discovered at Brusubi, West Coast Region, and Sutukoba village in the Upper River Region respectively. Operatives also seized some quantities and a cannabis plant from another suspect in Sukuta, West Coast Region,” said Mr. Saidybah.
PRO Saidybah revealed that other types of drugs seized during the reporting period were cannabis resin also known as hashish, cocaine, and clonazepam, adding that operatives seized 62 stones of hashish, 13 stones of cocaine, and 45 tablets of clonazepam tablets.
“The West Coast Region registered the highest number of cases and accounts for the chunk of the seizures. DLEAG’s West Coast Regional Command registered twenty-one (21) cases involving twenty-six (26) suspects including an Alleged Child Offender (ACO),” he said.
In WRC, he further said DLEAG officials also seized 42 bundles of cannabis sativa, 136 parcels, and 244 wraps of suspected cannabis Sativa.
In the same vein, he revealed that the regional command also discovered a cannabis cultivation site in Brusubi and equally seized a plant of cannabis sativa from another suspect in Sukuta. The other types of drugs seized by DLEAG’s West Coast Regional Command included 61 stones of hashish, 40 tablets of clonazepam, a controlled drug, and 13 stones of cocaine.
“In Sutukoba village, Upper River Region, operatives apprehended a suspect who was using his bathroom to cultivate Cannabis Sativa. He was arrested with four (4) big bundles and six (6) plants of suspected Cannabis Sativa,” Mr. Saidybah added.
According to him, DLEAG’s Banjul Command equally arrested one person with four (4) parcels of suspected cannabis sativa shipped from the United States of America. The said suspected cannabis sativa was wrapped in a black nylon bag, wrapped in cloth, and then concealed in a cartoon.
While calling on the populace to join the bandwagon in the crusade on drugs, PRO Saidybah said recent discoveries and trends indicate that despite the giant strides, traffickers and dealers are not relenting on their nefarious activities. He said they are adamant and hell-bent on flooding our communities with their illicit products.
“The primary victims are the youth who are the creams of our society and future leaders. We must therefore heighten our surveillance mechanisms and strengthen our resolve to ensure that we bridle drugs and associated menace from our communities,” he said.
