The new DLEAG boss also reaffirmed his institution’s continued commitment in making the country free from drug abuse and trafficking among others, saying: “With the strategy and mechanism we put in place coupled with the deployment we have across the country, I can assure you all that we will wage a war on this menace,” he said.
Ceesay, who was speaking on Friday at the agency’s maiden press conference since his appointment in July, said: “We want to have a country and society that is free from drug abuse trafficking and crimes related issues so as to enable the government continue it socio-economic development in the country.”
The agency, he continued, has registered unprecedented seizures of varying types of drugs from July to date, higher than any given four months in the past, adding: “From 1st of July to the 31 October 2024, we registered 444 cases involving 465 persons of which 265 are Gambians and 100 are non-Gambians.”
The non-Gambian arrestees, he went on, involved Senegalese, Bissau nationals, Sierra Leoneans, Europeans and Americans. “Most of the Europeans are arrested with cocaine and most of the Sierra Leoneans were arrested with ‘kush,” he revealed.
“With the commitment of my team and our operatives across the country, we will leave no stone unturned in our quest in achieving these objectives. Wheresoever they are, we will get them and bring them to book,” he promised.
The total quantities of drugs seized within the said period, Ceesay disclosed, equates to; two tons, 841 kilograms, 146 grams and 787 milligrams of cannabis sativa; eight kilograms, 325 milligrams of cannabis plantation; 10 kilograms, 452 grams, 996 milligrams of cocaine; nine kilograms, 767 grams, 327 milligrams of hashish; one kilogram, 737 grams, 861 milligrams of skunk; 18, 876 tablets of methamphetamine and 483 grams, and 711 milligrams of kush among others.
He added: “At the international front, my team continues to engage our partners here and abroad for the mutual benefits of all parties. It is common knowledge that drug matters are as domestic as they are transnational. Therefore, DLEAG continues to work with its valued partners including UNODC, the National Crime Agency (UK), the Turkish Anti-Narcotic Agency, regional anti-narcotic agencies of Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Ghana and Nigeria among others.”
Commenting on the agency’s efforts in combating the deadly kush drug which has reportedly claimed the lives of some young people in the country, DG Ceesay said: “Since my appointment at the helm of affairs of the agency, we have significantly witnessed the reduction in the number of kush related cases in the country. This is as a result of our operatives’ concerted efforts in arresting the menace. We have deployed dozens of our operatives at strategic locations and within the land borders so as to wipe out kush from the country,” he claimed.
Abdoulie Ceesay, the Commissioner for Drug Demand Reduction, said: “The agency is working with partners in ensuring that the draft is finalised.”
Quizzed on the issue of some drug traffickers receiving less conviction from the court despite being arrested with huge amounts of cocaine and other hardcore drugs, he said: “Sentence and conviction of suspected drug dealers and traffickers lie in the hands of presiding judges or magistrates. However, in some circumstances, the agency through our legal departments does appeal some convictions. In fact, currently, we are appealing certain sentences. ”
Commissioner of Operations, Juma Sowe, said: “The agency over the past months has registered tremendous success ranging from the discovery of cannabis farms in Foni, to the massive arrest of suspects among others,” adding that their operation will continue with the desire of achieving their objectives in making the country a nation free from drug related issues.
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