Four fraudsters were, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced to a fine of D6,500 each or serve three years in jail.

The convicts - Baba Kang, Abdoulie Mbowe, Nuha Trawally and Ebrima Cham - were convicted by Principal Magistrate BY Camara of the Banjul Magistrates Court, after changing their plea to guilty.

They were tried on four counts of purchasing forged bank notes (count 1 and 2), being in possession of fake bank notes and conspiracy; which are all contrary to the laws of The Gambia.

Police prosecutor, Inspector Keita said the incident occurred in December, last year, when officials of the NIA (National Intelligence Agency) acted on a tip that some quantities of fake Euros were being circulated by Gambians and non-Gambians alike. The investigation led to the arrest of the four suspects.

According to the prosecutor, a total of D196,780 was recovered from the accused persons. He gave the break down of the amounts recovered from each of the accused persons, saying that D120,000 was recovered from the first accused, Baba Kang, D53,500 from Nuha Trawally, D12,880 from Ebrima Cham and D10,900 from Abdoulie Mbowe.

The prosecution officer at that juncture applied for a certificate from the Central Bank of The Gambia confirming the money as fake, before the notes and certificate were marked as exhibits.

In their plea of mitigation, the accused persons each urged the court to temper justice with mercy, saying that sending them to prison would result to adverse consequences as they are family heads.

Principal Magistrate BY Camara warned them to desist from what he called "illegal activities" which are foreign to Gambians.