As you alluded to, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Drug smuggling has been going on back home for a long time. Without pointing fingers, I would like to point out incidents where certain businessmen who had shops in the "Tefess" district were getting awfully rich very quickly. Consequently, there were rumblings that these individuals were involved in drug smuggling. But because of a lack of experience in dealing with this type of activity, our authorities were unable to deal with such incidents. As a result, the smart drug dealers figured out that Gambia was an ideal place to smuggle drugs. Many businesses were just a cover for significant drug smuggling operations. Restaurants, bakeries, textile shops, companies that imported books for high schools, and car rental agencies were all some clever covers for the real activities of these unscrupulous characters. They were aided by custom officials that had a stake in this type of illegal business and, even worse, so!
metimes law enforcement officials and, yes, even government ministers were involved. More recently, there has been talk of direct involvement by the government in drug smuggling.
Then there is the issue of internal drug smuggling. During my younger days, it was very common for local dealers to make visits to the bush, as we called it, to procure drugs from farmers. These farmers figured very quickly that there was more money to be made growing and selling marijuana as opposed to rice or peanuts. The profits were great for the local dealers who were brave enough to make this trip.
However, while we cannot neglect the local problem, the real threat we face is from those that import hard drugs. The problem is not only with the importers, but it is more of a societal problem. If the government itself has been linked to this type of activity, the problem will not be solved. My belief is that these people that are being caught are just sacrificial lambs. The mentality is let's bust a few to make it seem as if something good is being done about the problem. But, on the other hand, the real flow of drugs is not being stemmed. Until there is significant change, I will remain a skeptic.
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