hi,
I'm just trying to figure out if this is the same
katim touray I went to 6th form with,89-91.
my name is tida m

--- [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Judging by recent news accounts, illegal drug
> trafficking is no longer a
> creeping societal menace. Instead, the nation has in
> it's hands a full blown
> crisis. If one attributes much of the increased
> prosecutions or interdictions
> on vigilant law enforcement particularly on the part
> of the drug squad, you
> are left to wonder whether the sheer size or
> frequency of cases don't point
> to a marked increase in the overall volume of drug
> dealing. From the seaport
> to the airport not to mention at the numerous porous
> borders, police are said
> to be seizing large volumes of drugs that seem to be
> headed to third
> countries primarily in Europe. Over the years
> dealers have evolved a rather
> sophisticated method of operation that relies on
> moving the drugs from
> producer countries, taking them to transshipment
> countries and finally to
> consumer nations. Typically the dealers look to
> small and strategically
> located countries like those in the Caribbean for
> dealers interested in the
> US market and West Africa for dealers angling for
> Western Europe. Countries
> where there is a penchant for corruption and greed
> become particularly
> susceptible as the dealers are more than willing to
> aggressively buy access
> and influence. Even individuals who up until the
> drug proliferation have been
> engaged in legitimate business may not be immune to
> the ever present desire
> to make quick money relatively easily either through
> participation in
> laundering transactions or serving as conduits
> during transshipment. Our
> country fits this rather ominous bill and I fear the
> emerging trends point to
> a nation at the cusp of being gradually overwhelmed
> by crime syndicates who
> want to use Gambia as a major drug transshipment
> point by taking advantage of
> the nation's weak capacity for law enforcement and
> overall border insecurity
> and pervasive corruption. We don't frown on much
> less investigate folks who
> display sudden wealth. Instead they can expect much
> adulation and respect
> thus fueling the never ending myth that there is
> indeed easy and fast money
> to made out there. Once we manage to get stuck with
> the dubious distinction
> of being a major drug transshipment point, we will
> find out that it is almost
> impossible to shake off such a label. Just ask the
> good people of Nigeria who
> must endure humiliating treatment as they travel the
> world. Bad reputations
> on nations are often like albatrosses; they
> persistently hang on the necks of
> citizens. As a result a legitimate businessman who
> just wants to come to New
> York or Madrid to buy merchandise for his store in
> Albert Market would find
> himself subject to endless scrutiny for simple
> business visa application that
> should be routine and automatic.
>      Consequently, list members I would suggest the
> government do two things
> as a matter of urgency. First enact into law severe
> penalties that includes
> mandatory sentences for those found guilty of
> possession, distribution and
> laundering drug proceeds. The current laws are
> inadequate to serve as a
> deterrent. Secondly the scope, training  and
> resources of the drug squad has
> to be vastly increased if the problem can even begin
> to be addressed. One way
> to make the unit more effective is to reconstitute
> it to incorporate a marine
> detachment that would  be assigned  through a
> defense department laison , a
> similar detachment from customs specifically trained
> to look for drugs and a
> phalanx of trained detectives  all under the overall
> command of the director
> of the drug squad. This would enable the unit to
> have better surveillance
> especially at the airport and at the sea where the
> transshipments must occur.
> The idea is to choke off the dealers ability to ship
> the drugs out of the
> Gambia to the consuming markets assuming he has an
> easier time getting it in
> through the porous border. While I do not
> underestimate the threat drugs pose
> to our own people considering all the attendant
> problems of crime and other
> ills drug consumption precipitates, the real
> incentive for these hideous
> dealers is the richer overseas markets. We must slay
> this monster before the
> nation is overwhelmed. The resources for a revamped
> drug squad should come
> from existing government allocations. I would get it
> from two sources; from
> the D60 million allocated to the Presidency over
> D3million of which is slated
> to be paid to Yahya Jammeh as perdiem and personal
> allowances for the
> nonsensical trips he makes the world over.  The rest
> would be the entire
> allocation for the N.I.A for fiscal 2000. They ought
> to be disbanded ,  and
> be asked  to hand in their radios and expensive cell
> phones and summarily
> dismissed  because they are up to no good other than
> hauling reporters and
> other innocent civilians to their dingy offices to
> visit evil on them.
> If we don't do anything soon, we will find ourselves
> run by drug kingpins.
>
> Karamba
>
>
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