In his mitigation, the convict begged the court to temper justice with mercy. He said he went to Senegambia to attend a party and picked six wraps of cocaine whose contents he was not aware of. He told the court that he put them in his pocket and later went home.
He posited further that when he reached his home, he felt the wraps of cocaine in his pocket with his hand while he was scaling the fence of his compound. “I then placed the wraps of the cocaine on top of the gate pillar. The following day, the Drug Law Enforcement Agency of The Gambia team found my cousin brother and two of his friends standing near my compound gate. They arrested them when they found the wraps of cocaine on top of the gate pillar. I was informed that they were taken to the police station. I then surrendered myself to the police and told them that I am the one who placed the wraps of cocaine on top of the gate pillar. My cousin brother and his friends were innocent. This is why I surrendered myself to the police and got arrested, and my cousin brother and his friends were then released,” he informed the court.
Magistrate Colley, in his judgement, asked the convict why he did not dispose of the wraps of cocaine or enquire what their contents were but instead placed them on top of his compound gate pillar. He told the court that cocaine is a dangerous substance. He considered the age of the convict who is 20 years old and said that he did not waste the time of the court and pleaded guilty. He further asserted that drug consumption is causing havoc in the society.
He also stated that it was very difficult to believe what the convict told the court in mitigation.
Thus, the presiding magistrate declared: “It is very difficult to believe you. Why did you not find out the contents of the wraps of cocaine but you decided to keep them on top of your gate pillar. Who will believe you? The offence attracts a fine of D1,000,000 or 10-year imprisonment. You are too young to be sent to prison for 10 years but you must face punishment for your action.”
