The Gambian embassy in Ankara, Türkiye has issued a press statement warning air travellers transiting the country to ensure they are carrying legitimate cargo in order to avoid legal woes and imprisonment.
The statement read: “In the past year, this mission has noticed a significant spike in the number of Gambians that get intercepted and eventually de-boarded and placed under arrest at Istanbul International Airport for transporting controlled substances of various classes, even though the Gambian carriers claim they are transporting moringa leaves or powder locally called “Never Die”. The carriers also claim they are only performing the role of transporters commonly known as GP and have no clear knowledge of what they are transporting other than what they were told.
“To avoid such occurrences, this mission advises all Gambian citizens to familiarise themselves with the legal classification of different herbs and roots in their destination countries and as well as transit airports to avoid getting themselves into legal quagmires. Failure to heed to this advice may result into significant costly legal consequences, and predicaments such as heavy fines or long-term imprisonment.” UN: Enslavement of Africans is ‘gravest crime against
