By: Audrey Raymonda John
Four staff members of Sea Coach—Forty-year-old Sheku Jimmy, a supervisor and language officer; thirty-eight-year-old Hassan Kamara, a cashier; and Forty-one-year-old Mohamed Kamara, a cashier—made their second appearance before Magistrate Mary Julian Gbloh of Pademba Road Court No. 5 in Freetown. They are charged with conspiracy to defraud and embezzlement.
According to the particulars of the case, on an unspecified date between February 12th and April 1st, 2025, at Lungi International Airport Terminal in Lungi, Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom, Port Loko Judicial District, North West Region, the accused allegedly conspired to commit a crime with unknown persons with intent to defraud.
Count two states that on the same date and location, the accused fraudulently embezzled sixty-three Sea Coach tickets, each costing $45, totaling approximately seventy-three thousand seven hundred ten Leones (73,710.00). They received these tickets without authorization from Sea Coach Express management.
When the charges were read and explained, the accused persons did not enter a plea.
Prosecution witness Sergeant 5598 Santigie Koroma, an operations manager and technician attached to Sea Coach, recognized all the accused persons as employees at the Sea Coach Airport branch. He recalled that on March 26, 2025, he was on duty at the head office on Sir Samuel Lewis Road, Aberdeen. He recounted an incident involving a transfer between himself and the accused persons after he finished work around 9:10 pm. The following day, March 27, 2025, he and an IT officer named Abdul Sankoh discussed the incident and how to track the tickets.
Their preliminary investigation revealed that ten of the tickets had been used and were issued by the third accused, Mohamed Kamara. Through their system, they concluded that they needed to investigate further in Lungi to determine who gave the tickets to the third accused. Before reaching Lungi, they discovered that the ten tickets were in possession of the third accused on his phone. When asked how he obtained the tickets, he initially claimed to have received them from the first accused.
While speaking with the third accused, the first accused arrived at Lungi from Freetown and met with them. They immediately informed him that the third accused had claimed to have sent him the tickets. The first accused denied this initially but later admitted that the second accused had sent him the tickets. The second accused then confirmed sending the tickets to the third accused and stated that he received the tickets from the first accused.
The first accused also confirmed that he obtained the tickets from Mr. Bangura, whom he knew as a customer, and that he could produce Mr. Bangura as a witness. Regarding the sale of the tickets, the third accused claimed he handed over $450 in cash, which he said he forwarded to the second accused. The second accused confirmed that he sent the money to the first accused via Orange Money. The first accused acknowledged receiving the money but said he sent it to Mr. Bangura.
The authorities then took the accused persons to the business center where the money transaction took place. The man in charge recognized the second accused and confirmed the transaction. A snapshot of the evidence of the transaction was also taken. At this point, the prosecutor requested a short adjournment to print the transaction evidence and tender it in court.
Magistrate Gbloh adjourned the case to July 1st, 2025, for further hearing and bail continuation for all accused persons.