By: Audrey Raymonda John
Five men, including an IT technician, businessmen, a military officer, and a contractor, have appeared before the court in connection with the alleged theft of a trailer belonging to the Freetown City Council (FCC).
The accused persons Mohamed Allieu Jalloh, 38; Alie Kamara, 55; Musa Turay, 35; Sorie Sesay, 36; and Ernest Allieu, 49 made their first appearance before Mustapha Braima Jah at Pademba Road Court No.1.
They are facing three charges: conspiracy, larceny, contrary to Section 2 of the Larceny Act 1916, and receiving stolen property, contrary to Section 33(1)(b) of the same Act.
According to the particulars of offence, between 11 July and 16 September 2025, at Queen Elizabeth Road, Kissy Dockyard in the Western Area, the accused allegedly conspired together with other persons unknown to commit a felony, namely larceny.
The second count states that on the same dates and at the same location, the defendants allegedly stole one low-bed trailer with registration number AVT 807, valued at $105,000, equivalent to Le2,418,044, belonging to the Freetown City Council.
The third count further alleges that the fifth defendant, Ernest Allieu, received the stolen low-bed trailer, knowing it to have been unlawfully obtained.
However, the charges were not read to the defendants because the fifth accused person was absent from court.
Defence counsel S.M. Fomba represented the first defendant, while C. Kamara and M. Bangura represented the second, third, and fourth defendants. The lawyers applied for the release of the accused persons or for them to be handed over into their custody.
They argued that since the charges had not yet been formally read to the accused persons, they could not make a proper bail application for the court to determine whether bail should be granted. On that basis, they requested that the defendants be released into their custody.
In his ruling, Magistrate Jah stated that the fact that the charges had not been read to all the defendants would not determine the application before the court. He emphasized that the matter remains a criminal case and that the court retains jurisdiction over the accused persons.
The magistrate therefore ordered a bench warrant for the arrest of the fifth defendant, Ernest Allieu, and adjourned the matter to 16 March 2026 for further hearing.