By: Mama A. Touray
Standing in the witness dock dressed in his airport security uniform, Yaya K. Jatta, the seventh accused and a defence witness, testified in the ongoing airport cocaine trial before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the Banjul High Court.
Four Gambian nationals, Yaya K. Jatta, Seedy Ceesay, Lamin Ceesay and Modou Bojang, are charged with two counts of offence, dealing in prohibited drugs and conspiracy to deal in prohibited drugs. Their co-accused, Vilmar Cabral, Ana Patricia Dos Santos Furtodo, Simara, Nadiya Martins and Maram Maria Mendes, are facing charges of aggravated drug trafficking, dealing in prohibited drugs and conspiracy to deal in prohibited drugs.
According to the particulars of the offence, the accused on or about June 29th 2024 were allegedly found in possession of 33 kilograms and 600 grams of cocaine at Banjul International Airport for the purpose of trafficking. They are also accused of being involved in the transportation of prohibited drugs and conspiring among themselves to deal in such substances.
Narrating his encounter with the panel constituted by the Drug Law Enforcement Agency to investigate the movement of the cocaine at Banjul International Airport, Jatta described how a heated exchange with one of the officers, identified as Cham, led to a physical altercation. He told the court that Cham said to him, “Even if you look at your face, you know that you are a drug cartel, you have been doing this for a long time.” Jatta said he responded, “Well, at least I am a drug cartel, but I am better than you who killed people and sit on television to seek forgiveness.” He testified that Cham then slapped him, and he slapped him back before they were separated.
Jatta said that when he returned to the panel, one of the members apologised, saying they were very sorry for what happened and that he should not feel intimidated. He was then asked if he had anything more to say, but he told them that he had nothing further to add.
He testified that he was later taken to the Criminal Investigations Department and then driven to Brusubi Police Station, where he spent the night in a cell. “When we got to the police station, Muhammed Yaya told me that I had to spend the night there because that’s what the panel said,” Jatta told the court. “I asked him to give me my phone to call my family and inform them that I would be spending the night at Brusubi, but he refused.”
The following morning, Jatta said he was returned to the panel and questioned again. “They asked if I had a good night, and I told them I had a terrible night,” he testified. “They said to me, ‘This is what you get if you don’t comply.’” He added that the panel warned him to speak the truth or face worse consequences. “They said, ‘If you don’t speak the truth, you’ll find yourself in a worse place than where you spent the night.’ But I kept quiet, and they became angry at my silence and took me back to CID, where I was detained without seeing my family.”
Jatta further testified that the next day, two men came in with a brown envelope. After going upstairs, he was brought out of the cell and asked to sign two documents without being allowed to read them. “They told me to sign or go to Mile Two, and I was afraid, so I signed,” he said.
The matter was adjourned to November 4th 2025 at 1pm for the fourth defence witness to testify.
By: Mama A. Touray Standing in the witness dock dressed in his airport security uniform, Yaya K. Jatta, the seventh accused and a defence witness, testified in the ongoing airport cocaine trial before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the Banjul High Court. Four Gambian nationals, Yaya K. Jatta, Seedy Ceesay, Lamin Ceesay and Modou Bojang, are The Fatu Network
