Tuesday 27th March 2007

As part of their campaign to take a hard line in the combat against illicit drug trafficking in the country, the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA) last week destroyed 346 kilo grammes of cannabis sativa and 22kg, 500grm of cocaine in  Banjul, Brikama and Bundung.

 

 

In Banjul, 177 kg, 500g of cannabis sativa and 22kg, 500g of cocaine were burnt at an exercise presided over by the Secretary of State for Interior, Ousman Sonko. In Brikama 135kg, 500g of cannabis were destroyed, while 33kg of cannabis sativa is recorded destroyed in Bundung in the same exercise.

In a discussion with this reporter on the developments, Ebrahim.

Bun Sanneh, Executive Director of NDEA, said the move is to demonstrate government’s zero tolerance against drug trafficking.

He recollected that “The Gambia government signed and ratified the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol, Convention on psychotropic substances of 1971 and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances of 1988.”

He added that this was followed by the establishment of the National Drug Control Council in 1995, adding that this was transformed into NDEA in2005 by an Act of Parliament.

The NDEA Boss noted that in 2005 alone 397 drug trafficking cases were recorded, 428 persons arrested of which 415 are male and 13 female. He further disclosed that of the 428, 379 were Gambians, 27 Senegalese, one Nigerian, 4 British, 4 Dutch, 7 Guinean, 1 Bissau Guinean, 3 Swedish, 1 Jamaican and 1 Sierra Leonean.

Mr Sanneh also revealed that in 2006, 229 cases were registered and 274 persons were arrested, of which 268 are male and 6 female. He added that 204 were Gambians, and the rest included Senegalese, Nigerians, British, Dutch, Guinean, Bissau Guinean, Malian and Sierra Leoneans.

He however reported that this year has seen a slight decrease in the number of recovered drug cases, and assured their resolve to combat the practice.

 

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