LamToro News (LTN) has been reliably informed that the only officer ‘present’ on duty on Tuesday night (15th August 2023) at the DLEAG Banjul Office was observing the Maghrib and Isha prayers when the detainees broke the door of the station cell and escaped.
Sources revealed that Sub Inspector Lamin Drammeh and Narcotics Control Officer (NCO 1) One Kebba Njie were the Two Officers fixed on duty on this particular day but only Kebba Njie was present.
“Actually what happened was that NCO1 Kebba Njie was the only officer present on duty and he went to the Mosque to pray Maghrib and Isha paryers. On that day, it was raining and the Imam joined the two prayers together. When he came, he realized that the door of the station Cell was damaged from outside an the detainees had escaped. There were five (5) detainees in the cell and all the four (3 Senegalese and 1 Gambian) escaped. The only person (the 5th detainee) who refused to escape and remained in the cell was a Gambian too. He was earlier bailed and later his bail bond was revoked but despite all that he stayed,“ said a source.
“We only noticed that Sub-Inspector Lamin Drammeh did not come to work on that day after the incident happened. It was only Kebba Njie who came but he didn’t give report about Sub-inspector Drammeh’s absence,“ another source disclosed.
Another source disclosed that the DLEAG top brass have tasked the officers who were on duty (Kebba Njie and Lamin Drammeh) to search for the escaped detainees and added that a decision is yet to be finalised into their faith.
Asked about how the incident happened? One of the sources hinted: “So far investigations revealed that the last padlock at the bottom of the staion cell where (space through which) they give food to the detainees, was the one broken and they escaped. It is not possible for anyone to break that padlock from inside. The incident is an outside job. Someone must have come from outside, entered into the station during this period when the officer NCO 1 Kebba Njie was praying in the Mosque and broke the padlock to free the detainees.“
“This is all an act of negligence. If Lamin Drammeh didn’t come to work, he should inform his immediate command and even if he produces a medical paper, he should have still called his command and inform him or her,“ another source told LTN.
Meanwhile, some sources also complained about the lack of facilities, mobility and equipment, logistics, human resources, etc for officers on duty at the DLEAG Banjul Office and even the entire DLEAG institution countrywide.
“Just imagine, even a Television is not available at the Banjul Station and officers can even sleep if they are boring. Also in the whole of Kanifing Municipality we have only one (1) functional vehicle,“ an anonymous source remarked.
“Considering the recent drug seizures and arrests made by the agency, the government should now boost the agency with enough resources, mobility, equipment to fight against drug trafficking and empower the entire agency. The human resources base is also not enough countrywide and we need more trained ofiicers, equiped with latest technology to easily combat drug dealers.”
LTN’s efforts to reach the DLEAG spokesperson Ousman Saidybah proved futile.
