Ousman Saidybah, the spokesperson of the agency who was contacted for comments confirmed the development, saying: "The Agency clutched 21 people involved in 19 cases. Twenty of the arrestees are male and the remaining one is female.
“Fourteen of them are Gambians, two Senegalese, two Sierra Leoneans, two Nigerians and one Bissau Guinean national.
Disclosing the total quantity of drugs, he stated that “the cumulative total quantities of drugs seized amount to 8 bundles, 3 parcels, 262 wraps and some quantities of cannabis sativa, 8 pieces of hashish, 138 wraps and some quantities of kush, seven wraps of skunk, three wraps of cocaine, one bottle of black chip and 9,917 pills of ecstasy.
He further highlighted that the Agency filed eight new cases at various courts across the country. “Two of the cases were drug trafficking while the remaining six were drug possession related matters.
“In the same vein, we secured six convictions and there were two acquittals. The said matters were determined at Kanifing Magistrates’ Court, Brikama Magistrates’ Court, Bundung Magistrates’ Court, Mansa Konko Magistrates’ Court and Bansang / Basse Magistrates’ Court respectively,” he said.
He alluded that “preventive drug demand reduction programmes and activities centered on radio talk shows and community sensitization” ought to be promoted to help in the fight for enforcement.
“Radio talk shows were held on Star FM, GRTS radio, and Soma Community radio. Equally, we collaborated with the ECOWAS Permanent Mission in The Gambia and organisation of ECOWAS citizens in organising a day long sensitisation programme for ECOWAS citizens residing in the country.”
