Police raid Brikama APRC bureau
By Pa Malick Faye &
Bakare Muritala
Nov 10, 2004, 16:27

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The Drug Squad Unit of the Police yesterday raided the APRC bureau in Brikama and subsequently arrested dozens of youths following the discovery of bags of cannabis sativa, commonly called jamba.

During the police raid which followed a tip off from neighbours, the youths were alleged to have been in possession of more than ten bags of cannabis.

According to sources, the bags of cannabis found at the bureau were seized from individuals and a group of drug peddlers around the Brikama Area.

“They had mounted an operation themselves and confiscated many bags of cannabis from the peddlers. They handed over some to the police and the rest, they kept for themselves,” a source said.

Sources further claim that the youth have since sold some bags of cannabis and used some personally.
“The youth bureau which is a notorious drug peddling centre was searched and these guys were raided by the police,” a Brikama resident said.

When contacted, the Police PRO, Aziz Bojang was said to be out of town but a senior official of the Police Drug Squad, Modou Gaye confirmed the arrest and said: “we did not arrest APRC youths but some people in possession of drugs in Brikama.”

He added that the weight of the confiscated cannabis is yet to be determined. “We have not weighed them, so we wouldn’t know how much they are weighing,” he said.

A senior APRC executive member, who spoke to the Daily Observer insisted that the raid was conducted at the Brikama Youth Centre and not an APRC Bureau.
“We used to have a bureau at the Old Brikama Market but had to close it because of sustainability.

We owed rent arrears and the local community cannot sustain its operation. So as at now, there is no APRC bureau in Brikama,” our source said.

He added that APRC has two provincial bureaus in Jarra and Basse.

He however confirmed that the youths arrested are “APRC militants” and added: “In every setup, there are good and bad people. They were not acting under the name of APRC but on their own. We have smokers and drug peddlers in all the political parties.”

Asked whether this will have an impact on the party if it is to be used as a political propaganda by critics, he said: “It will be petty if they should do that. This is not an economic issue but something that is found in all the political parties.”


© Copyright 2003 by Observer Company

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