By Lamin Cham
Ten serving members of the Gambia Armed Forces are in custody at the Fajara Barracks and being investigated for possible involvement in armed robbery.
Sources have informed The Standard that a group of armed men recently carried out violent armed robbery against some Nigerians living in a flat in the Kololi-Bijilo area.
Following the robbery, the Nigerians worked with personnel of the Police Anti-Crime Unit leading to the identification and apprehension of some of the armed robbers.
Contacted for confirmation before going to press last night, Gambia Armed Forces spokesman Major Lamin Sanyang said ten of the men apprehended included five from the Navy and “a certain number” from the Army Band.
He said they are being detained at Fajara Barracks and that Chief of Defence Staff Kinteh has given instructions for a panel to investigate the alleged involvement of the soldiers in the armed robbery.
Neither Major Sanyang nor our sources have been able to reveal the identities of the detained soldiers or give details about the robbery.
Mean while,in a separate development, The Standard has been reliably informed that five of the ten armed robbers who were recently arrested after targetting petrol stations in the Greater Banjul Area, were found with AK 47 rifles. It is believed that close circuit television footages from the pumping stations showed that the attackers were ten in number and the police are on a manhunt for the five still at large.
