The Office of the Inspector General of Police has issued a statement, urging vehicle owners to collect their number plates with immediate effect.

According to a press release received from the Office of the Inspector General of Police, signed by ASP Sulayman Secka, public relations officer of The Gambia Police Force, the office "has noticed that some unscrupulous individuals are using licence plates that are not officially registered. This happened due to the unavailability of plates in the past." "Therefore," the release went on, "all vehicle owners who paid for their licence plates are hereby urged to collect their official plates at the Number Plate Department, Police Headquarters in Banjul before June 15th, 2009.

"The Gambia Police Force in ensuring general security will no longer allow the usage of licence plates that are not officially issued by the police. To avoid unnecessary delay and embarrassment, vehicle owners are strictly urged to ensure that they have the officially issued licence plates on their vehicles," the release concluded.