By: Audrey Raymonda John
Abdul Farama, a businessman, appeared before Magistrate Santigie Bangura at Pademba Road Court No. 2 in Freetown to face three charges: possession of a prohibited drug without lawful authority, dealing in prohibited drugs without lawful authority, and selling a prohibited drug without lawful authority.
According to the particulars of the offense, on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at No. 10 Ansley Street, Fourah Bay Road, in the Western Area of Freetown, Farama was found in possession of 33 packets of Tramadol without lawful authority. The second and third counts alleged that he dealt in and sold the prohibited drug on the same date and at the same location.
Farama pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Juan M.S. Bull, prosecuting the case, called Detective Police Constable 13682 John Umaru as the first witness. Umaru, attached to the Crime Writers’ Office at the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) Hastings, testified that on December 12, 2024, Sergeant 9589 Jabatti P.J.K. brought three packets of Tramadol and Le83,013 in cash to the TOCU office. Umaru said three packets of the Tramadol were sent for forensic analysis, while the rest, along with the cash, were registered in the court exhibit book under serial number 195/2024.
During the court proceedings, the exhibits were presented as evidence. The Tramadol packets were marked as Exhibit A1-30, and the cash was tendered as Exhibit B.
Defense counsel Boyze Kamara Esq. pleaded for leniency on behalf of his client, emphasizing that Farama was a first-time offender and had been in custody since December 12, 2024. Kamara informed the court that Farama had learned his lesson and had not wasted the court’s time. He noted that Farama’s wife is heavily pregnant and that he has serious health issues. Kamara argued that the money found with Farama was contributions from a club and funeral contributions belonging to third parties, not solely the accused.
In his ruling, Magistrate Bangura acknowledged that Farama was a first-time offender and sentenced him to pay a fine of Le2,000 or serve five years imprisonment on all charges. The magistrate also ordered that the money in Exhibit B, confirmed to belong to third parties, be returned to Farama.
The prosecutor raised no objections to the ruling.