Police spokesperson David Kujabi told journalists at the press briefing yesterday: “This robbery happened on September 5 at around 14:30hrs at the Guaranty Trust Bank branch in Bakau. The heist was carried by two young Gambians namely Ansuman Jarju who is resident in Kerr Sering and Alfusainey Jatta a resident of Cape Point [Bakau]. The principal suspect, Ansumana Jarju went into the bank behaving as if he was a customer and pulled out a pistol. At gun point, he asked the tellers to put monies into a bag which amounted to D410,120. When he exited the bank, he boarded a waiting Mercedes Benz taxi being driven by Alfusainey Jatta. Unfortunately for them, their car broke down in the middle of the road while authorities at the bank reacted swiftly to inform the police and a team was set up to set out on an investigation. The principal suspect had to abandon the car, and board another taxi go to his house. The team that mounted the investigation later found the driver as he tried to fix the car and was arrested. He complied with the investigation team and led the police to the house of the principal suspect in Kerr Sering. He was also arrested and asked to bring out the money. The police found out that he had hidden the money at two separate places. The first amount recovery was D130, 000 hidden somewhere in the bush around the Total petrol station in Fajara where their car had initially broken down. D120,000 was in D25 denominations while D10,000 was found to be in D100 denominations.
“When they came back, they also recovered some of the things that the suspects used to carry out the heist including white canvass boots, black mask, ‘three-quarter’ jean trousers, white t-shirt and a Mercedes Benz taxi with BJL4565G number. Further investigations also revealed that the principal suspect had hidden some of the money in his house. After a search, the police were able to recover D260,000 all in D100 denominations. That combined, you will realise that a total of D390,000 had been recovered. The total amount stolen from the bank is D410,120 and we really do not know as of now what happened to the remaining D20,120. This act is a rare occurrence in this country and it is very good that this people have been arrested. I want to commend the bank for acting swiftly. The police also acted maturely and professionally because they followed the lead and they were able to arrest these people. I want to emphasise that The Gambia has no room for such criminal activities and we cannot condone robbery. We are a peaceloving country and have always taken pride in investors coming here to do business. Government and the security will never compromise such acts and whoever is out there contemplating such acts should know that there is no room for them here because the security is always very alert. We want to urge the public to remain calm because the situation is under control and bankers and customers should continue their daily activities.”
It is not known whether the suspected duo have been formally charged or when they will be arraigned.
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