Magistrate Santigi Bangura of Freetown Court No. 1 has remanded two accused, Alimamy Sesay and Lamin Bangura, for alleged offences of larceny.
The complainant in the matter is J. Bola Kali, Sales and Marketing Manager of Selina Enterprise, while the accused are Lamin Mansaray, a labourer and Alimamy Sesay, a driver in the business organization.
The complainant, who was led in evidence by ASP Hawa Bah, told the court that they had left Freetown together with the first and second accused to supply goods to their customers in Kono, Makeni and Magburaka and in the process collect payments from previous supplies of used cloth.
The Sales Manager furthered that the sum of Le71 million was inside a bag at the back of the truck. According to him, the 1st and 2nd accused were in possession of the keys to the vehicle, but on their way back to Freetown they had to stop at Gbere Junction for refueling and also at Mile 38 for security check.
The complainant revealed that that, upon arrival in Freetown, he discovered that Le11 million has been removed from the initial Le 71 million that was initially in the bag.
He concluded by telling the court since the two accused were the only individuals with him in the vehicle he formally reported the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at Pademba Road.
A plea was entered by A.S. Sesay Esq. for the Magistrate to grant bail to the 1st and 2nd accused on the justification that both accused have been in custody for more than 10 days.
A.S. Sesay Esq. assured the court that if the accused are granted bail they would not pose any flight risk, adding that both suspects are breadwinners for their respective families.
The prosecution objected to bail, stating that the allegations border on serious economic crime and the quantum of money involved is huge and there is a possibility for the accused to interfere with the witnesses.
Magistrate Santigie Bangura upheld the objection of the prosecution, and all accused were remanded at the Pademba Road while matter was adjourned to the 26th April 2018.