GAMBIAN DIAMOND DEALER DEMANDS OVER D20M FROM SENEGAL

By Omar Bah A 66-year-old Gambian international diamond dealer, Alhaji Mory Gassama, has called on President Adama Barrow to use his good relations with Senegalese President Macky Sall to help him recover twenty million Dalasi and an additional ten million CFA from Senegalese authorities. Gassama, who walked into the offices of The Standard Monday to tell his scintillating story, explained that it was back in 2006 when the Senegalese police and customs officers intercepted him with a diamond weighing 186.4gram, approximately 929.75k, with street value of S464, 000 (US$500) per carat) which is more than D20 Million dalasis. “They arrested me and demanded that I instantly pay a fine of CFA10 Million before I could be set free with my diamond. I did that without being given any receipt but worse, I was not freed but instead kept in prison for 11 months while undergoing trial for not declaring my diamond to customs officials on entering Senegal,” he said. Gassama said after a marathon trial, the court, which also ordered for the return of the diamond, set him free. “The prosecution was not satisfied and they appealed the case which I also won,” he said. But according to Mr Gassama, up to this day, the authorities in Senegal have refused to respect the court order to return his diamond or its value in money. “I am now urging President Adama Barrow to use his good office to solve this matter for me. I have undergone enough hardship at the hands of the Senegalese officials over this matter,” he concluded. Alhaji Mory Gassama was born in Tuba Tafsir village in the Upper River Region and presently residing in Pipeline. “I am an international diamond dealer who has worked in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Congo. I have never encountered any problems in those faraway countries. Why then is Senegal?” he asked, almost in tears.]]>