By: Momodou Justice Darboe & Nyima Sillah
The Gambia’s anti-narcotics agency has completed the investigation into the circumstances of the 48 blocks of cocaine seized at the Laura company’s Banjul warehouse a little over four years ago, The Voice can authoritatively report.
In 2019, laborers offloading a container of sugar shipment at the Laura Food company’s Picton Street warehouse found blocks of cocaine concealed in the container.
The Laura Food Company cocaine saga is arguably one of the cocaine cases in the country that aroused intense public interest as suspicion grew over the willingness of the authorities to investigate and help lay the ground to prosecute it.
The Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (DLEAG) has been widely criticized for its perceived slow pace in probing the matter but DLEAG said since the Laura company cocaine issue was a transnational matter, the agency needed more time to investigate it.
The container of white crystal sugar was ordered from Toyoto Tsusho Sugar Trading Ltd. Based in the UK.
The cocaine also became a subject of parliamentary query in 2020, when the interior minister was orally questioned about the progress of the investigation. The minister said the investigation was underway.
Meanwhile, judicial sources have informed this medium that DLEAG has since forwarded their findings to the AG Chambers for review and legal advice.
“The file was sent here a long time ago. I don’t know why journalists aren’t aware of the development,” one of our sources said.
However, the question of whether the authorities are keen on prosecuting the Laura Food company cocaine case remains unanswered.
