As the fight against narcotic drugs continues, the Sierra Leone Police in collaboration with other partners, has on Saturday 20th April, 2024, burnt huge quantity of narcotic drugs worth over two hundred thousand United States Dollars at the Transnational Organised Crime Unit Headquarters (TOCU), based at Rogbangba Junction/Hastings.
In a press briefing preceding the burning exercise, the Executive Director of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency – Mr. Andrew Jaiah Kaikai who doubled as the keynote speaker intimated the press that the allegations making rounds that Sierra Leone is a hub for drug trafficking is baseless and unfounded, given that there is no evidential fact to substantiate it.
He furthered that some time in February 2024, a huge consignment of confiscated narcotic drugs were burnt in the view of the press; which, he said, demonstrated the commitment of the government in the fight against drug menace in the country.
He noted that the Town Hall meeting at the Bintumani Conference Centre necessitated the declaration of the National Health Emergency on narcotic drugs in the country.
He further maintained that the National Task Force has been formed and headed by Professor Sahr Foday. He therefore encouraged all and sundry to collaborate with the necessary institutions in the fight against drugs in Sierra Leone.
The Director of Crime Services – Commissioner Joseph Ibrahim Lahai who ably represented the Inspector General of Police – Mr William Fayia Sellu emphasized on the SLP’s commitment in the fight against narcotic drugs in the country; adding that the future of our youths is at stake if robust mechanisms are not put in place to curb this deadly menace in society.
Commissioner Lahai described the burning as a means of discouraging those who are importing these narcotic drugs to destroy the future of our youths. He encouraged both the International and local journalists to cascade the messages to the wider public.
The Deputy National Security Coordinator – Dr. Ahmed Sannoh opined that the co-operation within the security sector has yielded dividend in the fight against narcotic drugs. That the drugs to be burnt were drugs arrested at the Queen Elizabeth the II Quay and other parts of the country. Dr. Sannoh also referred to the destruction of the drugs as part of government’s commitment in the fight against narcotic drugs in the country. He gave the specifications of the confiscated narcotic drugs to be burnt, as thus:
👉🏿 37 cartoons of tramadol – 225mg.
👉🏿Loose quantity of cannabis sativa that were harvested by the Freetown East operations team at Hastings Peninsula Hill in February 2024.
👉🏿 Loose quantity of cannabis sativa concealed in a blue rubber barrel.
👉🏿 One blue rubber barrel containing 17 small and one big parcel of cannabis sativa.
👉🏿 One blue barrel containing 21 small parcel plus small loose quantity of cannabis sativa.
👉🏿 Two small parcels (white plastic bag with red strip) containing masks
👉🏿 One small brown parcel containing cannabis sativa.
👉🏿 Two whitish substances in white plastic (suspected to be precursor chemical for drugs).
👉🏿 One and half bag of white dusty substances with loose quantity of cannabis sativa.
👉🏿 One big cartoon containing cannabis sativa.
One small nylon bag containing stems of dry leaves of cannabis sativa.
👉🏿 One white rubber jar containing white substance having a pugent smell labelled calcium hydrogen suspected to be precursor chemical for manufacturing drugs.
👉🏿 Two barrels containing 15 parcels marshmallow leaves with RCE NO. 46/2023.
👉🏿 5 Cartoons containing 33 gallons of Acetone.
👉🏿 10 gallons of methanol.
👉🏿 30 grosses of tamaking.
👉🏿 One parcel of Kush.
👉🏿 One parcel of cocaine.
👉🏿 Three parcels of cannabis sativa.
👉🏿 One parcel of Amphetamine.
👉🏿 One parcel of Euphetrimpomder.
👉🏿 One parcel of Ecstasy powder.
👉🏿 Five big cartoons of tramadol (royal).
👉🏿 Six cartoons of tramadol.
Meaningful contributions were made by Captain Alpha Jayah Bangura, the Harbour Master at the Quay. He reiterated that they have established international networks with other port authorities as a means of sharing intelligence about drug traffickers; nothing that all the narcotic drugs arrested at the Quay were found among personal effects. He disclosed that they had embarked on thorough searches at the Quay.
He emphasized on their commitment in the fight against drug abuse given that the Port is one of the biggest income generating institutions for the Government of Sierra Leone.
The burning of the confiscated narcotic drugs climaxed the end of the programme.
