Deputy Superintendent of Police Lamin Saidykhan, who is serving as a prosecution witness in the ongoing armed robbery case also detailed how the stolen money was distributed among the suspects. He revealed that each individual received 100,000 dalasis, while the remaining 100,000 dalasis was reportedly used to purchase two pistols in a neighbouring country.
Responding to a question posed by Defence Counsel E. Sanneh representing the third accused as to whether he (Saidykhan) had informed the court during his testimony on 10 July 2025 that money had been recovered from Diabate’s wife, the second accused, Sanneh asked, “Is that correct?” In response, Saidykhan stated, “Yes, over 30,000 dalasis was recovered from her, but in connection with a different case.”
When asked whether he remembered the exact amount recovered during the course of their investigation, Sanneh responded: “I can’t recall the precise figure, but I know it was more than 30,000 dalasis.”
Pressed further whether any other money was recovered from Diabate’s wife, aside from the 30,000 dalasis, Saidykhan clarified that their investigation had uncovered over 200,000 dalasis from the second accused, Diabate.
“Count Two in the indictment accuses the three men of robbing the United Vegetable Oil Company of 400,000 dalasis. Are you aware of that?” asked Sanneh. The detective officer replied, “Yes, I am aware of the indictment.”
“The total amount recovered from the second accused and his wife is over 230,000 dalasis. Is that correct?” Sanneh quizzed. To this, Saidykhan responded, “What was stolen from the shop amounts to over 1.5 million dalasis and more than 1.5 million CFA.”
Sanneh persisted in questioning the witness on how much money was recovered in this particular case. The police officer categorically stated: “No physical cash was recovered from the suspects in relation to this matter. The incident reportedly occurred on 31 December 2024, and the suspects were arrested on 8 February 2025. The investigation later revealed that the 400,000 dalasis allegedly stolen from the company had been shared among the suspects, with each receiving 100,000 dalasis. The remaining 100,000 dalasis was used to purchase two pistols for future operations.”
When asked whether receipts for the firearms existed, the police officer replied, “There are no receipts as the pistols were illegally purchased and smuggled into the country.”
Asked further for the name of the firearms seller, Saidykhan said he did not know. On the question of where the sale took place, he responded: “According to our investigation, the transaction occurred outside the country.”
Defence Counsel U.A. Ugar, representing the second accused and holding a brief for the first accused, questioned whether the investigators had access to the staff roll during their inquiries. The witness replied in the negative.
“You told the court that the accused is a staff member of the United Vegetable Oil Company,” said Ugar. In response, Saidykhan clarified: “What I said is that the second accused was a former staff member of the United Vegetable Oil Company.”
