By: Nicholas Bass
The lawyer for Mamadu Neto Djabi, Sheriff M. Tambadou, on Tuesday told the Banjul High Court that agents of the Drug Law Enforcement Agency of The Gambia (DLEAG)administered electric shocks on his client’s testicles at the Kairaba police station.
Tambadou said Mamadu was also beaten in handcuffs at the station.
According to the defense lawyer 20 armed officers in four pickups went to arrest Paulo and Ndadine, challenged the legality of deployment of the weapons in the arrest.
Testifying under cross-examination, the first prosecution witness Lamin Sanneh denied knowing if Mamadu wasindeed handcuffed and beaten as alleged by the defenselawyer.
When defense lawyer Tambadou asked Sanneh about thelocation of his clients during their arrest by the Joint Investigation Team, he replied that Paulo and Ndadine were arrested outside Envy nightclub. However, defense lawyer Tambadou argued that his clients were arrested at the gate of the residence of the vice president of The Gambia.
According to the state witness Sanneh, Paulo and his alleged wife Ndadine were arrested with prohibited drugs, strings, and needles at Fajara Waterfront, stating that some monies, MDMA, vehicles, motorcycles, and jet ski were recovered during the investigation. Sanneh concurred with defenselawyer Tambadou that the subject of the charges of Paulo and Ndadine emanated from the alleged illicit drugs that werefound on them.
The matter was at that juncture adjourned to 2 December2024, for continuation.
Paulo Djabi and Ndadine Ismael De Gou Veira are jointly charged with possession of prohibited drugs and dealing. Paulo is separately standing trial for money laundering and currency disclosure, and his alleged nephew Mamadu Neto Djabi is facing a separate charge of possession of prohibited drugs. Neto and Ndadine are jointly charged with money laundering.
