By Janet A. Sesay
Forty-year-old Fatou Zingie Gueya, a Senegalese national, has been remanded by Justice Mark Ngegba of High Court No. 8 in Freetown for the alleged unlawful possession of cocaine at the Freetown International Airport, Lungi.
The defendant made her first appearance before the court on four counts of unlawful possession of prohibited drugs, contrary to Section 8(a) of the National Drugs Control Act, 2008 (Act No. 10 of 2008).
According to the police, on 3 April 2026, at the Freetown International Airport, Lungi, Port Loko District in the North-West Region of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the defendant was found in possession of two parcels of cocaine, which tested positive for cocaine hydrochloride and weighed approximately 1.8 kilograms, without lawful authority.
The prosecution further alleged that on the same date and at the same location, the defendant unlawfully transported the prohibited drug, cocaine, from a hotel in Lungi to the Freetown International Airport.
After the charges were read and explained to the defendant through an interpreter, Pateh Bah, who translated the proceedings into French, she pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The court heard that the defendant boarded an Air Sénégal flight from Senegal and transited through The Gambia before boarding another flight to Freetown International Airport. Upon arrival, she was allegedly intercepted at the luggage screening point by Detective Inspector Hindolo Bundu Kamanda, who arrested her after discovering two parcels containing a white powdery substance suspected to be cocaine.
State Prosecutor N. Jalloh sought an adjournment to enable prosecution witnesses to testify at the next hearing.
Hon. Justice Mark Ngagba granted the application and adjourned the matter to 17 June 2026 for further proceedings. The defendant is being represented by Lawyer M.K. Dauda.