Guinea-Bissau journalist in cocaine trade

  1. Posted on Tuesday 21 December 2010 - 10:24
    Kemo
    Image of Kemo
    Kemo Cham, AfricaNews reporter in Dakar, Senegal
    A photojournalist is among three people caught in possession of cocaine in West African nation of Senegal. Guinea Bissau's Mamadou Fati, who is covering ongoing World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, took advantage of his status to avoid customs controls and entered the country with 3 kg of the prohibited drug.
    Guinea-Bissau journalist in cocaine trade
    The Medina Police arrested the three after a tip off by a police informant.

    Fati and his accomplices, one of them a businessman, said to be responsible for finding client for the prohibited goods as well as serving as interpreter, were holding up in a hotel, when the police informant called the attention of the Commissioner of police in Medina. They had split up the package into three parts.

    A team from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Commission went on their trail and got hold of the journalist and his interpreter as they were in possession of two kilograms of cocaine and waiting for a prospective customer. On interrogation, police found that the rest of the drug was with the third accomplice, a tailor, who was later arrested.

    Poverty have greatly helped aggravated drug dealing in Guinea Bissau, a country that remains a major problem for the world’s major recipient of these prohibited substances transported through it with the help of corrupted officials.

    Journalist Fati’s case suggests the involvement of journalists, a crop of poorly paid section of the country’s work force, in the illegal business.

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