The Fatick Regional Narcotics Brigade (BRS), under the Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking (OCRTIS), dismantled an international drug trafficking operation on the Gambia-Senegal route last Sunday around 6:00 PM. Three individuals were arrested, including a Gambian national and an 18-year-old girl, according to Seneweb sources.

The suspects were arrested for possession of ecstasy (188 pills) and skunk (1 sachet) for the purpose of trafficking. They are D. Touré, a mason born in Gambia, AO Kane, a trainee driver residing in Mbour, and D. Ba, born in 2007, who presented herself as a merchant and resided in Mbour (Liberté).

These arrests followed targeted checks and screenings carried out at the border crossing. Identified the previous day as they crossed the border into The Gambia, the suspects were taken to the Fatick BRS (Brigade de Recherches et de Sécurité - Research and Security Brigade) for a search upon their return.

That is how D. Touré, while trying to take the unofficial route, was apprehended at the bus station by police officers who had identified him.

 

Invited to the premises for a body search, two bottles of "baby powder" were discovered in his bag, in which he had concealed 114 ecstasy pills and a cone of skunk in the first bottle, while another 74 pills were discovered in the second bottle.

When questioned about the origin of the product, D. Touré stated that the 114 pills and the sachet of skunk belonged to him. However, he claimed that the other 74 pills had been given to him by a man named AO Kane.

The latter, identified with Ms. D. Ba on the platform at the time of the check, was invited to the station.

When confronted with D. Touré's statements, he admitted to being the owner of the 74 pills which, according to him, were intended for his personal consumption.

The enigmatic role of the young girl

As for D. Ba, her involvement is reportedly linked to an invitation extended to her by AO Kane. However, she declined to comment on the nature of this invitation.

Returning to the case of D. Touré, he stated that the 114 pills were intended for resale in Saly (Mbour) after he had acquired them from a man named LN, based in Brusubi, Gambia, at a price of 1,750 CFA francs each, for a total of 329,000 CFA francs. As for the packet of skunk, he claims it was given to him free of charge in Gambia by an individual whose identity he prefers to keep confidential.

The three suspects were taken to the service's headquarters. They are being prosecuted for conspiracy and international drug trafficking. This operation illustrates the vigilance of the OCRTIS services in the fight against cross-border drug trafficking along the Gambia-Senegal axis.