By Janet A. Sesay
The Sierra Leone Police yesterday informed the media about the work they have been doing at different places around the country. The briefing took place at the conference room of the police headquarters, George Street in Freetown.
According to A.I.G. Mannah (Director of Operations, SLP), a lot has happened in the force, but “we are on top of situations”.
He said that police operations are ongoing in the Central Business District of Freetown, adding that even though they are getting challenges from people who want to break the law, “the police are doing their utmost”.
He said last week they had some problems with evictions at Dudu, but the police resolved that issue, notwithstanding some youths of that area attempted to obstruct traffic.
“The police will become very useless if we do not take justice issues very seriously. If people feel aggrieved they should go to the court as the law is there for the protection of every Sierra Leonean,” A.I.G. Mannah advised.
In his report, A.I.G. Fayah Sellu, Director of Crime Services at the Criminal Investigation Department Headquarter, said they have realised the huge influx of drugs into the country and the effects they have on the youths.
According to A.I.G. Fayah Sellu, the police have designed a good action plan to see how best they could clamp down on the operations of those suspected of dealing in drugs.
He said they have conducted three sting operations on the drugs issue.
“On the 6th of July 2021, the police tracked one Barber Dumbuya of Magazine community. He is a resident of London, but he has been on our surveillance for a very long time now. We suspect him to be trafficking narcotics into the country,” A.I.G. Fayah Sellu informed men and women in the media.
“We were able to arrest him along George Street in Freetown, seized his mobile phone and went to his residence at Boma Drive, Adonkia, to do a search,” he continued.
He said they arrested one Samuel Lebbie in Barber Dumbuya’s house during the search. They also found a small bag suspected to be hashish, a by-product of cannabis sativa.
He said the two suspects and the sample are with the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) at Hastings.
“We will take the items to the forensic lab for examination, before we can proffer the appropriate charges,” A.I.G. Sellu explained.
He said, on the 13th July 2021, the police also conducted two operations, one at Kissy, where they arrested one Juliet Kamara because she had in her possession twenty-five packets of 225 milligrams of tramadol.
“In this country we can have tramadol, but only 50 milligrams. Anything more than that is a very serious offence. And she was found with twenty-five packets, which is very high. She was also found with over 45 ounces of Kush and other quantities of cannabis sativa. She also had fifty million, one hundred and nineteen thousand Leones and one thousand, eight hundred and five dollars. These sums of money are suspected to be proceeds from the sale of the drugs,” AIG Sellu.
“She is presently in our custody helping in our investigations. And the substances are at the TOCU Police Station for examination,” A.I.G. Sellu concluded.
In his report, A.I.G. Francis Ben Lebbie, who is the Operations Officer at C.I.D. Headquarters, said that, on Tuesday 6th July 2021, they discovered ten rounds and twenty-five pieces of shotgun cartridges possessed by Saidu Brewa.
“The arms and ammunition were found in a vehicle with registration number RC 4416P in control of the said driver, but the suspect is presently on the run. The cartridges are in our custody. We have written a request for the ballistic officer in order to examine the arms and ammunition. The vehicle is at Balamoya under police custody and investigation is in progress,” he said.
A.I.G. Francis Ben Lebbie furthered that, on Wednesday 7th July 2021, the Operations Unit of the office received intelligence that narcotic drugs, including dry leaves suspected to be Kush and other drugs, can be found at Alusine Street, Calaba town in Freetown.
According to him, when the joint operation teams from C.I.D. Headquarters and the OSD conducted a search, substances suspected to be cannabis sativa were found in a blue barrel, including mobile phones, laptop computers and twenty-four assorted SIM cards.
He said four Nigerian suspects were questioned on how they got the exhibits. One of them informed the team that he purchased the substances from some metal scrap dealers around the community. “The C.I.D Headquarters is investigating the issue,” A.I.G. Francis Ben Lebbie explained.
A.I.G. Francis Ben Lebbie said, on Saturday 10th July 2021, one Mrs. Turay and Patrick of Zenith Bank arrested and brought in Melvin Dakachi, a Nigerian national, and a Marketing Officer at Zenith Bank and Hassan Murray at Blackhall Road in Freetown reported that the Audit Department of the Bank noticed that Melvin had conspired with other persons and easily transferred thirty-seven thousand United States Dollars and one hundred and eighty-three million Leones, respectively, through mobile phone by internet banking from various customers’ accounts. Those monies were withdrawn unlawfully without the knowledge of the Manager.
“Investigations are in progress,” he informed journalists.
The Regional Crime Officer, Freetown east, Michael Kelly Dumbuya said, on Tuesday 29th June 2021, Reverend Mustapha Samura, at New England Ville in Freetown, reported at Congo Water, Wellington, that he discovered his nephew, Adekalie Samura, 39, lying dead in a water-well at Philip Street in Freetown.
“He discovered the incident to be foul play on the deceased,” Michael Kelly Dumbuya told journalists.
He said they investigated the matter and visited the scene of crime and conveyed the corpse to the Connaught Mortuary for post-mortem examination. From the autopsy result, Michael Kelly Dumbuya said there was manual strangulation including skull fracture of the deceased.
Michael Kelly Dumbuya said, during the interrogation of one Alhaji Mansaray, a Final Year Law student at the Fouray Bah College, the police found out that he had something to say in relation to the deceased’s demise.
“I instructed that he should be arrested,” Michael Kelly Dumbuya said.
Several police officers narrated a lot of incidents around the Freetown municipality and other areas.