Mosquito was arrested in Sukuta with seven (7) bags of 65 big bundles of suspected cannabis. The drug dealer was arrested by narcotic officers while distributing his illicit products in West Coast Region and Kanifing Municipality on board a tinted Land Cruiser Prado vehicle with registration number BJL 3774 J.
Ousman Saidybah, the spokesperson of the DLEAG
confirmed the development to The Point, saying: “Lamin Touray alias mosquito, is by far one of the most notorious drug dealers and distributors in the country as far as our records are concerned. This is one person who is determined to poison our youths and flood our communities with illicit drugs. All what him and his ilk think about is how to amass their ill-gotten wealth irrespective of the harm caused or who is affected.”
According to Saidybah, Lamin Touray was on 4th August 2016, arrested 65 bundles of cannabis weighing 56 kilograms and 380 grams. “He was arrested at Kotu while on board his vehicle distributing his illicit products. Subsequently, he was arraigned at the Kanifing Magistrates Court and charged for drug trafficking related offenses. At the end of the trial, he was acquitted and discharged.”
“On the 27 June 2018, he was again arrested in his house with thirty four (34) bundles of cannabis weighing thirty seven kilograms twenty grams (37KG 20G). one hundred and twenty six (126) bundles of cannabis weighing one hundred and twenty three kilograms, twenty grams (123KG 20G) was also recovered from his vehicle (BJL 1068 J) parked at his residence in Brikama.”
PRO Saidybah further added: “He was accordingly arraigned before the Brikama Magistrates’ Court and charged with drug trafficking related offenses. Mosquito was acquitted and discharged by Magistrate the court on grounds that the agency felt was not reasonable enough. Interestingly, relying on some legal technicalities, his vehicle from which substantial quantities of cannabis was recovered was also returned to him by the same court. There is no doubt that the huge quantities of drugs were recovered in the vehicle.”
“He could not give any tenable grounds as to how the drugs got to the vehicle without his knowledge. We were therefore flabbergasted as to how such a vehicle could be returned to him while the drugs were forfeited to the State. This is just like giving him a tap in the back and the licence to carry on with his illicit activities.”
“We respect the independence of the judiciary and have high regards for the courts and the decisions of the court. This is why we never relent, neither tired nor frustrated in going after him and his ilk. In the same vein, we use laid down avenues to challenge the decision and that is why the AG’s Chambers is currently appealing the case. It will interest the public to know that the same vehicle released to him was again intercepted by operatives on the 11 September 2020 at Brusubi while on a cannabis distribution exercise.”
“Sometimes we understand the frustration of the public seeing people who have been repeatedly arrested being released back into society. We want them to understand that we are just one of many actors or players within the criminal justice system. We can only arrest, prepare our case files to the best of our ability and present our cases. If rulings do not go in our favor, there is nothing we can do other than to appeal.”
