Moroccan Hashish: Gambia’s drug agency makes biggest narcotics burst in a decade

by Assan Sallah

The Drug Law Enforcement Agency of The Gambia (DLEAG) has made the biggest seizure of Moroccan Hashish in Wulingkama village, West CoastRegion. It is the biggest drug burst since the 2010 cocaine saga, and the first of its kind for hashish.

Chief Superintendent J.C. Faye, Officer Commanding (Nr.2) West Coast Region, at the Drug Law Enforcement Agency of The Gambia, on Saturday led an operation and arrested four individuals suspected of drug trafficking.

The team bursted into a stash house and discovered huge amounts of Moroccan Hashish kept at a compound in Wulingkama in the West Coast Region.

The officers seized approximately 900 blocks of Moroccan Hashish in the said compound and arrested the purported ringleader Sidia Ndow,Ousman Kanteh and two others. The suspects are currently held at the DLEAG’s CTI Office in Bijilo where they are undergoing investigations.

“These people have a big network and the DLEAG is trying to investigate everything. Some of the information gathered revealed that they were planning to ship these drugs to somewhere else through the Port of Banjul. The drug squad agency is trying to establish all that information and many more, including their collaborators in and outside The Gambia,” said a source.

Each of the Hashish block reportedly worth approximately D35,000 and that huge quantity have been discovered. The source further indicated that some expensive cars like the new model of 2020 Range Rover, among other brands were also found with the suspects. The compound they occupied in Wulingkama is owned by a Gambian lady (name withheld) in the UK, who is apparently related to one of the suspects.

The Gambia’s Drug Law Enforcement Agency had in June 2010, discovered, and seized at least two tonnes of cocaine estimated at a billion dollars in Bonto Island, West Coast Region, which was bound for Europe. Gambian security operatives had also arrested a dozen suspected traffickers and seized large quantities of cash and arms.

The latest drug seizure is the second biggest since 2010 and the biggest seizure of Hashish alone in the history of the anti -drug agency. The Public Relations Officer of the DLEAG, Ousman Saidybah could not be reached for comments. However, The Digest News will monitor the investigations into this case and will give regular updates.

Note: The author Assan Sallah is a Gambian journalist living in Germany. He was news editor and security affairs reporter at the Daily Observer.