“The suspects were on board an ash color private vehicle with registration number WCR 7133 C. They told officers that they were going to Mandory in Badibou, North Bank Region. During a routine screening of the vehicle, officers discovered that the said cash was in a multicolor bag.”
Upon discovering the cash amount, officers invited them to a nearby office for counting and confirmation of the total amount of cash found with them as well as the source of the money and the reasons for locally transporting such huge sums of money.
After counting the cash in the presence of the suspects, it was confirmed that the United States Dollars notes were in one hundred dollars ($100) denominations while the total amount of Gambian Dalasis found with them were bundled as follows:
- Two hundred and ninety thousand Dalasis
(D290,000.00) in one hundred Dalasis (D100.00) denominations.
- Seventy thousand Dalasis (D70,000.00) in fifty Dalasis(D50.00) denominations and
- Ten thousand Dalasis (D10,000.00) in fifty Dalasis
(D50.00) denominations.
Lamin Marong, the Central Bank employee claimed that the fifty-seven thousand eight hundred United States Dollars ($57800) was given to him by a senior official of the Central Bank for onward delivery to his (Lamin Morong's) father. Asked the reason for the huge Dollar amount with them, Lamin Marong responded that it best known to the sender and not them.
For the two hundred and ninety thousand Dalasis
(D290,000.00), Lamin said that a relative gave him some old currencies that were exchanged with new currency notes while the remaining amount was purposely changed in preparation for an upcoming Gamo at their village in Badibu, North Bank Region.
The suspects were thereafter handed over to The Gambia Police Force Mansakonko Police Station for further investigations and necessary actions.
