Principal Magistrate Edrissa Mbai of the Banjul Magistrates Court, last Thursday August 27, 2009 adjourned the drug-related offence case involving the state against one Babucarr Manneh to September 17, 2009, for judgement.

Principal Magistrate Mbai adjourned the matter to the said date for judgement following the accused person's closure of his defence. Babucarr Manneh was alleged to have been found in possession of 40grams of cannabis sativa on November 8, 2008, at Esau police checkpoint in the North Bank Region.
The accused, a Senegalese from the city of Dakar, said he was aware of the charge against him and that he came from the neighbouring Republic of Senegal on November 6, 2008, for holidays in The Gambia and came to Banjul to buy clothing materials for the last Tobaski celebration.

The accused further said after buying some textile materials, he attempted to conceal the said textile materials from the officials of the Customs and Excise Authority.  The accused said he was arrested by the security officials who alleged that he had concealed prohibited drugs inside a clothing (textile) material in his private parts.

The accused said when he was arrested at the Esau police checkpoint, he was never told why he was arrested.  The accused confirmed that both his cautionary and voluntary statements were obtained in the presence of an independent witness. During cross examination by Sub-Inspector Momodou Jallow, the accused was asked why he didn't object at the time his statements were tendered, and it was asserted that not clothes but 40grams of cannabis sativa were concealed in his private parts. He did not reply to this.