Expressing frustrations over the lack of proper coordination in the fight against drug abuse in the country, the Inspector General of Police, William Fayia Sellu made several allegations against state institutions, including Sierra Leone's Airport and Sea Port as places where illegal drugs are smuggled into the country.
First, the IG stressed that the fight against illegal drug requires a holistic approach that is not only limited to Sierra Leone Police and went further to elaborate on the challenges his institution is facing in the fight against Kush and the abuse of other drugs.
According to the IG, some of those challenges are posed by the Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and the Office Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
For us in the police, the issue we have is that, we have to refer every case we are investigating to the office of the Attorney general who peruses the files and put out charges. Most times, we send those files to that Office, they are stuck there, the IG said.
"And when they are going to the DPPs office, he himself does not look at them and then assigns them to those small-small-infant lawyers. They too can be compromised."
The Law Officers Department and the Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice have reacted these allegations through a latter written by the Director of
Public Prosecutions (DPP), saying they disappointed at the IG for his statement and demanded that he provide evidence for his claims.
The IG was speaking to MPs last month, as one of the stakeholders summoned by Parliament to deliberate on the rising intake of Kush and how the illegal drug is imported and sold in Sierra Leone.
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The drug is similar in appearance to that of cannabis, but when puffed, it can cause a psychological disorder in a consumer, often resulting into abnormal sleepiness or violent behavior and death.
Sierra Leone has the laws to fight Kush and other illegal drugs. The plan is there and nothing is missing, Executive Director of the National Drug and Law Enforcement Agency, Andrew Jaiah Kaikai told MPs while speaking at the event.
He said everything needed to combat drug abuse is entailed in the country's strategic master plan cabinet approved in 2023. That's in addition to the National Drug Control, Arrest and seizure regulations also approved by Parliament in 2021.
But despite these laws and regulations, illegal drug importation remains rampant in the country while lesser people are being charged and prosecuted for the act.
And even the "sentence and fines for drugs dealers are also very minimal," IG Sellu says.
