GRA apprehend 5 smugglers

The suspects comprise three Senegalese, a Rwandese and a Gambian citizen.

Acting on a tip-off from a source, officers of the Mobile Brigade, Intelligence and Investigations laid an ambush around the outskirts of Dimbaya village and trailed the suspects from Dimbaya to Jabang where the suspects were eventually arrested.

Reacting to the arrest, Deputy Commissioner General Essa Jallow informed reporters that December is the peak period for alcohol consumption in the country due to the Christmas and New festivities coupled with the boom in tourists’ arrival during this period.

Mr Jallow noted:  “Recently, we have seen an increase in the level of smuggling activities involving alcoholic beverages due to the high demand for these products during the Christmas and New Year festivities. The high demand is also because of the peak period of the tourist season. The smugglers are using this opportunity to engage in the illegal importation of alcoholic beverages to increase their income generating opportunities.”

He stated that a few weeks before this arrest, officers of GRA engaged in a hot pursuit of smugglers around the same Dimbaya village resulting in an accident where some staff of GRA sustained injuries and caused damage to a GRA vehicle.

DCG Jallow warned: “The public is hereby warned to desist from such activities. GRA will use the full force of the law to prosecute all those involved in all forms of illegal importations. The Authority therefore solicits the support and cooperation of the communities around our porous borders in combatting the illegal smuggling of alcohol into the country.”

Investigations are ongoing to unravel those behind the smuggling, he said.

Correction

In one of stories headlined: ‘Court remands Husband at Mile 2 prison for reportedly killing wife’, we erroneously stated that the accused “pleaded not guilty” as charged, however, it has been brought to our attention that the accused did not take his plea. The error is therefore deeply regretted.