Four Nigerians have been arrested by personnel of the Gambia Police Force at different locations - Kombo Beach, Palm Beach and Kairaba Beach Hotels - for being in possession of 647 false travellers' cheques (American Express and Thomas Cook traveller's cheques), amounting to ?63,200.

The alleged criminals - identified as Linusuche Mbadi, Kenneth Kenechi Eweputanna, Arinzechukwu Kingsley Nwankwo and Donatus Nwufu Ikwuwunna - were led to Banjul by their ring leader, Linusuche Mbadi, a few weeks ago.

According to the police, Mr Mbadi arrived in the country on August 30 and set the ground for other gang members to enter the country without hinderance.

However, Chief Inspector Fulo Mbaye, the station officer at the Kotu Police Station, told GRTS his officers arrested two of the suspects in a hotel upon receiving a tip-off. He said further investigations resulted to the arrest of the other two members, who were also found with false travellers' cheques that they had been issuing in hotels.

ASP Kebbeh Ansu Sawaneh, officer commanding, Criminal Investigation Division (CID) in Kanifing, said their investigations uncovered that three of the suspects were holding different passports of a number of countries, besides the Nigerian ones.

Police investigations revealed that Linusuche Mbadi, Kenneth Kenechi Eweputanna, Arinzechukwu Kingsley Nwankwo, were found in possession of Lesotho, Sierra Leone and South African passports respectively, while the fourth suspect, Donatus Nwufu Ikwuwunna was found with a Nigerian passport.

In a separate development, personnel of the Gambia Police Force, on August 30, arrested one Abubacarr Tunkara, a resident of Bundung, for being in possession of 44 stones of diamond, with the intention of selling them to one Arab national.

According to police sources, the suspect lacks the appropriate legal documents to warrant him to trade in diamonds in the country and no tax was paid by him to the Customs.
Meanwhile, Mr Tunkara was recently granted bail, as the police investigation progresses.