As the Eid-ul-Adha – commonly known as Tobaski – approaches, Muslims in the country have begun to buy rams and various items to celebrate this most important feast. It is at times like this that we observe various forms of crimes perpetrated against the gullible – or simply – the unlucky ones.
Many people with criminal propensities use times like this to deceive, defraud, cheat or rob their fellow human beings. Sometimes, one hears of sorrowful tales of old men or women being defrauded of all they had because they were preparing to celebrate the feast.
There are hotspots on which they go and gather just to find ways of blindfolding people into believing that they are there to help them transact their business of buying rams only to end up doing away with all what these unsuspecting customers had.
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. The Gambia Police Force must use all resources at its disposal to ensure that they prevent these criminals from attaining their objective of deceiving our compatriots during these times. They must mount effective and frequent patrols in known hotspots to make sure that their presence serves as a deterrent to would be perpetrators.
It will also be beneficial if the police work in collaboration with communities and those involved in the buying and selling of livestock to ensure that people and their properties are safe. The general public is also urged to be particularly cautious when they deal with other people in this time of the year.
