Holland Gambia Fishing Company Transformed Into NDEA Office!

Foday Barry, Pa Mbye, And Others “Illegally” Occupying Company Linked To Cocaine Trafficking

Police Chief Pa Silva Fired, Captain Sanna Majang, Others Into Drug Trafficking, And A Lot More

By Staff Reporter Malang Jammeh & Pa Nderry M’Bai

Email: panderrymbai@gmail.com

Tel: 0011-919-749-6319

While the two billion dollar cocaine bust case is pending in Gambia’s legal system, authorities in Banjul have taken over the offices of the Holland Gambia Fishing Company Limited, which belongs to the foreign nationals currently being tried for cocaine trafficking in The Gambia, the Freedom Newspaper can report.  The National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA), acting outside the ambits of the law has transformed the Holland Gambia Fishing Company corporate office as a sub-station, where apprehended drug suspects are being processed, sources within the NDEA hierarchy said. 

There was no court order for the forfeiture of the Holland Gambia Fishing Company offices, and therefore the NDEA’S move to transform the building situated in Kanifing, as a processing center would no doubt have a far reaching legal ramifications to the pending cocaine case, said an NDEA insider. The insider added that a good number of his colleagues are complaining against the Directorate’s decision to “illegally” occupy the property of the apprehended suspected drug dealers without a court clearance. The insider said his colleagues actions undermine the judicial process—adding that “ all accused persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law.” The insider adds that he is not sure if the President sanctions the actions of the Directorate, but added the state should allay officers fear that the Government is trying to dictate the outcome of the case by forcefully occupying the building rented by the detainees.

“They are acting outside the dictates of the law. This case is pending in court. How can they transform the Holland Gambia office into a sub-station without a court order for the forfeiture of the property? This is a clear case of power abuse.  Ben Jammeh, supposedly a legal mind ought to have known better. There is no justification for their actions,” the NDEA insider lamented.

During the course of our investigations, this paper dispatched its home based reporter Malang Jammeh to authenticate the veracity of the report about the NDEA’S occupation of the Holland Gambia Fishing Company building.  On arrival, reporter Jammeh saw former spy chief Foday Barry, Pa Mbye, one Mr. Jatta, a former Sergeant with the Immigration Department now promoted to the rank of ( Commissioner) and other NDEA agents in the building. He gathered that the building was being used for processing of drug suspects, and for investigative purposes.  

The Manager of the Holland Gambia Fishing Company, who happens to be a Dutch National, and seven others are currently standing trial for the two billion dollar cocaine seizure that was uncovered in Bonto, in the Western Region of The Gambia.

According to NDEA insiders, the coming of  Foday Barry, Pa Mbye and others have been welcomed in some quarters, but at the same time some NDEA agents are not pleased with the way and manner the men mentioned herein conducts drug raids and investigations. They said the men instruct them to conduct massive raids without sketching a proper groundwork to get hold of the real drug dealers in town.

“What is happening now tantamount to arbitrary arrest. In as much as they want to impress the President, they should be aware of the implications of undermining potential leads, and pending investigations.  We should be going after  the drug lords, and not petty consumers caught with a joint. What is the point of sentencing a person caught with a joint of cannabis to three years in jail, when the drug lords are walking scot free in the streets of Banjul and Serre Kunda? We need to go after the big fishes and stop the massive arrest of poor consumers. The type of approach employed by these people is not going to help to weed out drug traffickers in the country,” warns the insider.                         

       Mandour Cannabis Forfeiture

Recently, the National Drug Enforcement Agency made a major cannabis catch in the village of Mandour. Three accused persons have been arrested, and are helping police with their investigations. But there is more to the story, according to sources close to the NDEA.

The smuggling of cannabis from neighboring Casamance into The Gambia has been going on since the advent of the Jammeh administration. The state house jungulars, such as Captain Sanna Manjang, Musa Sarr, and others have been linked to the drug trade.  Mr. Manjang in particular had been intercepted in the past with cannabis by NDEA staffers. His case file was dismissed thanks to Lang Tombong Tamba’s intervention.

That said, our source went on, the Mandour cannabis bunker is out of hundreds. The source said drugs are concealed in bunkers in various parts of the country. The source adds that the soldiers are actively engaged in drug trafficking, and it is question of the investigators to pursue the right leads to track down the traffickers.

“ They are trying sell this story that the confiscated drugs were trafficked by Casamance cyclists. I  don’t buy the story because it is a known fact that Sanna Majang others traveled to Casamance to smuggle drugs into this country. The drug trafficking case is complex matter. We cannot get into the bottom of the truth without going after the soldiers serving in active duty and the big fishes running drug cartels in town. If you are not part of the NDEA set up, it would be hard to know the real drug dealers in town,” the source said.

  Police Commissioner Pa Silva Sacked

Well placed sources at the police head quarters in Banjul have confirmed the sacking of the CRR police Commissioner Pa Silva. Mr. Silva was being investigated on alleged corruption, and abuse office. He was first interdicted, before being fired by the authorities.

Mr. Silva is one of the longest serving members of the Force. His career was abruptly terminated, following accusations by the villagers of Choia in the Central River Region that he ( Pa Silva) was favoring their neighboring rival village Sarreh Bakary over a land dispute. The former police chief was alleged to have received monetary bribe and three bulls from the other land contenders (the people of Sarrreh Bakary), a charge he strongly denied.

The land dispute between of Choi and Sarreh Bakary has been going on for a while now. Sarreh Bakary is a new settlement. They moved into the area into the mid 90's, but the villagers claimed that the contested land belongs to them.

An investigative panel was constituted to look into the veracity of the allegation, which saw the testimonies of local villagers, including a NAWEC staffer, who is resident in Bansang, sources said.

According to sources reaching the Freedom Newspaper, there was no evidence established at the end of the investigations that should warrant for Mr. Silva’s prosecution and possible sacking from the Force, but the state decided to prematurely terminate his services with the police.

A senior official of the police said Mr. Silva’s sacking emanated from the “top.” The official said he regrets to announce that the force is losing one of its most competent officers. The police chief said many officers are being fired because of “cooked up” allegations.