By Sainabou Sambou
The High Court buzzed with tension on Monday as Justice Ebrima Jaiteh heard gripping testimony in a massive cocaine trafficking case. Nine people—including four foreign women and five Gambian men—face charges of moving 33.6 kilograms of cocaine through Banjul International Airport on June 29, 2024.
State lawyers M. Singateh and S. Sarr squared off against defense counsel A. Jurju, Fatoumatta Bonda, and Lamin J. Darboe. The defendants—Vilma Cabral Roel, Ana Patricia Dos Santos Furtado, Simara Nadiya Martins, Miriam Maria Mendes, Seedy Ceesay, Lamin Ceesay, Yaya K. Jatta, Modou Bojang, and Muhammed Jallow—could spend years in prison if convicted.
The witness was Yaya K. Jatta, the 7th accused and a 13-year veteran of airport security. Jatta told the court how his life had flipped upside down after the drug seizure.
“I first appeared for bail on July 4,” he said. “Before it was granted, Drug Squad intelligence boss Lamin Gamassa called me and a colleague to Mr. Baldeh’s office. They said a press release was out because journalists were sniffing around. ‘Call your family for bail,’ they told me, ‘but speak publicly and you’re back inside.’”
Jatta told the court he saw his name splashed across social media that night.
Freed on bail, he flew to Nigeria for a two-week security course. A call from Director Colley cut the trip short: a questioning panel wanted him back home.
On return, Jatta faced the panel at the Drug Squad’s Pipeline headquarters. “It was 10 a.m.,” he recalled. “Commissioner Jatta accused me of trafficking. I said I knew nothing. Then Commissioner Cham—an SI officer—slapped me after I told him not to insult me. I slapped back. Officers pulled us apart.”
Jatta spent the night locked in Brusubi Police Station, phone confiscated. The next day, threats escalated. “Cooperate or it gets worse,” he was told. Terrified, he claimed he had signed a statement he had never written.
State Counsel Singateh grilled Jatta on cross-examination. “How many security units are at the airport?”
“Immigration, general security—staff numbers shift,” Jatta replied. He confirmed two guards were arrested in the sting.
The courtroom fell silent as Justice Jaiteh adjourned the case to November 5th, 2025. The trial’s outcome could shake Gambia’s fight against international drug rings.
