Camara confirmed during questioning that he gave a statement to the police. Defence counsel Batchilly successfully applied to tender the statement as Defence Exhibit, and also requested to have the first weighment certificate (Prosecution Exhibit J) entered into evidence.
When asked to confirm the date the drugs were taken to court, Camara initially said he could not recall. However, when shown the station diary, he agreed that it was on October 13, 2023, not October 23 as previously assumed.
“It was kept in the safe of OC Burama Jammeh,” Camara said, adding that although the safe was in Jammeh’s office, only the Deputy Director General and the Director of Operations had the keys.
Camara acknowledged that the drugs remained in DLEAG custody from October 13 to October 23, 2023, and were not weighed again before being transferred to the court.
Counsel Batchilly questioned why the second weighment, conducted at the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court, took place on June 28, 2024, in the presence of only one accused person, Raymond, and not all three.
“At that moment, I didn’t know who was involved in the case. The police only brought one person,” Camara stated.
He denied knowing whether all the accused had already been charged by the time of the weighment, saying: “That’s not true. I don’t know.”
The defence further questioned the integrity of the cocaine count. Camara testified that the blocks were transported in two suitcases and were counted according to serial numbers from 1 to 52.
However, counsel Batchilly accused Camara of simply counting block by block without verifying the numbers, which Camara denied. “We counted them from 1 to 52,” he insisted.
He admitted under earlier testimony that some numbers had been repeated, but denied that this occurred while the blocks were in his office.
“That is not true,” he said in response to allegations that number repetition happened under his custody.
As the defence team digs deeper into potential irregularities and chain-of-custody issues, the case grows increasingly complex.
The case was then adjourned.
