Kumba Sillah-Camara, acting principal magistrate of the Bundung Magistrate court, yesterday convicted one Abubacarr Tunkara, a diamond dealer and fined him US$1,320 in default to serve a 3-year imprisonment.

The police prosecutor, Cadet Inspector Keita, had earlier on called 2 witnesses to support his case while the defence had called on only one witness before changing their plea from not guilty to guilty. Magistrate Kumba-Sillah Camara in her judgement warned the convict (Abubacarr) to desist from the act of dealing in diamonds without proper authorisation.

According to the particulars of the offence, Abubacarr Tunkara, in the month of January 2008 in the Kanifing Municipality, intended to defraud the government of The Gambia of duties due by knowingly concealing 44 stones of diamond. The magistrate ordered that the 44 diamond stones be forfeited to the state.