With the anti-drug police regularly reporting arrests of drug traffickers, and as its use flourishes in many communities across the country, residents of Kololi Tavern are complaining of drug dealing in their community.
They spoke to The Alkamba Times following recent clashes involving rival drug gangs at Kololi Tavern, who usually fight for dominance in the drug business. It sports a lucrative business center with everything available, from food to drugs, escorts, and alcohol.
One person who witnessed the clashes said the gangs of rival drug dealers often engage in running battles over turf or the sharing of proceeds from drug sales.
This source shows drug dealers would deal before their compounds, pushing hard drugs, including crack cocaine.
“One thing is for sure; a generation of youths would be lost to drug addiction with no rehabilitation possibilities in this country.
“The police will occasionally appear, and then everyone behaves, but the activities resume as soon as they leave.
“It’s 24/7 of profane language, general disorderly conduct, and running battles among the groups,” one resident told TAT.
Another resident lived a few meters from Kololi Tavern and described the incidents as “worrying.”
“The entire neighborhood is on a knife’s edge. Drug dealing and drug use happens in front of houses, and homeowners dare not say or do anything.
“Sometimes, it affects people’s ability to go to the mosque for Fajr prayers. Would you like to live in a neighborhood like that?”
The residents are calling on law enforcement authorities to intervene and curb the area’s crime urgently.
TAT investigations reveal that police usually come when such clashes are reported but hardly make any arrests. This has raised suspicion that some officers may be on the drug dealers’ payroll.
It would be recalled that the Brussels Times recently reported the arrest of five suspects following an investigation into drug smuggling at Brussels airport in Zaventem.
This was after a flight landed from Banjul, which investigators from the Federal Judicial Police had closely monitored, according to the report.
Past interceptions of hard drugs and recent events signpost the Gambia’s transition as a route in the illegal drugs trade, but the author. Still, authorities watching by – a special anti-narcotics unit is expanding its quest to get ahead of traffickers as hotspots like Kololi Tavern make life unbearable for metropolitan residents.
The spokesperson of the police in Gambia is yet to respond to a TAT request for comment on the reported matter.
