Drug squad accused of excess, theft in raid

Members of The Gambia’s elite anti-drug enforcement agency, Drug Squad, have been accused of excesses for raiding a local business in Gunjur and seizure of property without due warrant. The Crazy Daisy English restaurant in Gunjur was the subject of unannounced raids and searches of the premises by Drug Squad personnel, according to the proprietor, Lamin Touray. Speaking to Gunjur News Online about the raids, Lamin, aka King Lana lamented: “It was on Saturday 24th of November at around 11:30pm when I was cooking orders in the kitchen with a friend of mine named Lamin Barrow when I saw one uniformed PIU officer and one in plain clothes coming through my kitchen back door. The plain clothed guy identified himself as a drug squad officer verbally, then I opened the middle door of the kitchen as it was closed at the time. All I could see everywhere was the drug squad personnel with some inside my bar and about 20 of them pushing when I was requesting for a search warrant and forcefully entered my kitchen. Commissioner Faal was present, OC Mamina Badjie was also present, and one native of Gunjur named Lamin Jammeh alias Girak. “, a defiant Mr Touray revealed. In a Facebook live video, Mr Touray expressed his dissatisfaction on the heavy handedness of the drug squad personnel based on unfounded allegation of his place of business being used for illegal activities such as drug use and dealing. He accused the officers of theft by taking customer belongings, his property when they could not find any evidence of illegality at his premises. “ My Business is legally registered and I pay my taxes to the government. I do not owe the government any money, these raids are detrimental to my business which will send away my customers” Mr Touray emphasised. “After conducting their illegal search, my spices, grinder, my takeaway bags which are not even plastic where all taken away, three of my stools were taken away and three of my customers’ bicycles as well. The following day I went to request for my materials and all they did was to detain me for four and a half hours”. He added: “And they charged me on two counts. Count one: inviting people to come and smoke marijuana at my restaurant when no drug was found in my territory and count two: for having my properties on in the street. It was like a joke to me as I don’t know what they are talking about. Still now I can’t get my things from them. OC Mamina Badjie was trying to threaten me that he is going to jail me thinking am the sort of person who can be threatened in the fight for his legal rights and am not giving up until I get back all my belongings back”. Efforts to reach the Gunjur Police for their reaction proved futile.