Magistrate Sambou fines Haruna Cassama D2 million for trafficking cocaine

By Louise Jobe

The Brikama Magistrates’ Court has convicted and fined Haruna Cassama D2 million after finding him guilty of aggravated drug trafficking and dealing in prohibited drugs involving 11 blocks of cocaine weighing 13 kilogrammes.

Magistrate K. Sambou handed down the sentence on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, imposing a fine of D1 million on each of the two counts. The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning they will be served at the same time rather than one after the other.

The court also ordered the confiscation of the cocaine and the vehicle in which the drugs were found. Cassama was charged with aggravated drug trafficking under Section 43A(1) of the Drug Control Act, as amended, and dealing in prohibited drugs under Section 33(1) of the Drug Control Act 2003.

The prosecution alleged that on 29 August 2024, at the Giboro Border Post in the West Coast Region, Cassama possessed 11 blocks of cocaine weighing 13kg. He denied the charges when they were read to him in English and interpreted into Mandinka, the language he chose to speak. The prosecution called several witnesses, including narcotics officers who took part in the search and arrest, as well as an officer who analysed the seized substance.

Bakary Saidy, a narcotics officer stationed at the Giboro Drug Law Enforcement Unit post, told the court that he was informed by a colleague, Pa Modou Sowe, that he had overheard Cassama making a telephone conversation involving words that raised suspicions about drugs.

Saidy said he went with Sowe and another officer, Sarjo Dambelly, to where Cassama’s vehicle was parked. The officers met Cassama at a local café, identified themselves and searched his Toyota Land Cruiser. According to Saidy, three blocks of suspected cocaine were discovered after part of the passenger side of the vehicle was unscrewed. Eight additional blocks were subsequently found, bringing the total to 11.

The vehicle, a grey Toyota Land Cruiser bearing registration number RG B 1077 CH, was taken to the drug enforcement unit’s station, along with Cassama.

Saidy told the court that Cassama initially denied knowing anything about the drugs. However, he said the accused admitted ownership during further questioning the following morning and allegedly told officers that he had brought cocaine into The Gambia on three previous occasions.

According to the witness, Cassama also said he had delivered the drugs on those occasions to a man identified as Alieu at Brusubi Turntable. An attempt to arrest the man was unsuccessful, the officer told the court.

Karamba Bojang, who analysed the seized substance, testified that laboratory examination confirmed it was cocaine and that an analytical certificate had been issued.

Other prosecution witnesses, including Sarjo Dambelly and Ousman Sarr, gave evidence supporting the account of the search and recovery of the drugs.

In his defence, Cassama denied knowing that the cocaine was in his vehicle.

He told the court that he was travelling from Senegal to The Gambia in a Toyota Land Cruiser belonging to Abdou Manjang of Bassam when the vehicle developed a mechanical problem after he crossed the border checkpoint.

Cassama said the vehicle had been searched at the checkpoint and allowed to proceed. He said the engine later developed a fault, forcing him to seek assistance to move the vehicle away from the road.

He testified that Pa Modou Sowe was among those who helped push the vehicle and advised him to park it near the officers for security reasons.

According to Cassama, he followed the advice, left the vehicle and went elsewhere to sleep.

He said officers approached him the following morning while he was having breakfast and requested permission to search the vehicle. He was surprised, he told the court, because the vehicle had already been searched the previous day.

Cassama maintained that he did not know who had placed the cocaine in the vehicle and denied making the telephone conversation attributed to him by the prosecution.

In assessing the evidence, Magistrate Sambou said the central question was whether the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Cassama was responsible for the cocaine found in his vehicle.

The magistrate acknowledged that the main dispute concerned who had placed the drugs in the vehicle and who owned them.

However, after reviewing the evidence, the court rejected Cassama’s account that he had no knowledge of the cocaine.

The magistrate said the court found it difficult to believe that Cassama neither owned the substance nor knew it was in his vehicle.

The court concluded that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and found Cassama guilty.

During mitigation, the defence asked the court to impose a lighter sentence, describing Cassama as a first-time offender with family responsibilities and children to support. The defence also maintained that he had denied knowing that the drugs were in his vehicle.

In sentencing, Magistrate Sambou said drug abuse was becoming increasingly common in the jurisdiction and that the court had a role to play in supporting efforts to combat the problem.

The magistrate also took into account Cassama’s status as a first-time offender and the court’s assessment that he appeared remorseful.

The court imposed a fine of D1 million on the aggravated drug trafficking count and a further D1 million on the count of dealing in prohibited drugs, with both sentences to run concurrently.

The court ordered that the drugs and the vehicle be confiscated by the state.