By Janet A. Sesay
The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) has detained eight suspects alleged to have been found with cannabis sativa at different locations across the country.
Head of the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU), Alhaji Kelfala Maddie Bangura informed journalists that a joint team of police officers from across the country came together to ensure that they arrest and address the issue of drug trafficking in Freetown and the country at large.
He said they have stepped up the operation to finally address the fight against narcotic substances in the country.
Bangura said they arrested the seven men and a woman from different sections and parts of the country based on intelligence that the suspects were keeping different types of drugs at their houses.
He said the drugs include tramadol, Kush, cannabis sativa and other illegal drugs they make money from by selling them to the public.
He said this is not the first time they have arrested people for such offences as they have statistics of people that they have arrested and charged to court, adding that people have benefitted from such arrest data they believe the media houses would help disseminate.
Bangura clarified that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarter is responsible for charging such matters to court; and that TOCU is the lead agency responsible for combating the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country.
The TOCU boss informed that the drugs are under examination, “and we expect the suspects to be in court on Monday or Tuesday for them to begin their trial”.