By Makutu Manneh
The Gambia Immigration Department said it intercepted 89 suspected would-be migrants in three separate operations over a three-day span last week, part of what officials described as an intensified campaign against irregular migration.
The operations, carried out in Brufut, Farafenni and Jinack between July 21 and July 23, also led to the arrest of two suspected migrant smugglers and the seizure of a 60-horsepower boat engine, according to a statement from the department. Details of the Brufut operation were not disclosed.
The first of the two operations described in detail took place on July 21, when immigration officers stationed in Farafenni, working alongside the Gambia Armed Forces’ Second Infantry Battalion, intercepted 30 suspected irregular migrants. Investigators said the group had allegedly been preparing to attempt the journey to Spain and included 17 Gambians, eight Senegalese, three Guineans, and two Ivorians, among them three women.
A day later, on July 22, the department’s Border Patrol Unit in the North Bank Region intercepted 24 suspected would-be migrants at Jinack. That group included 11 Gambians, seven Senegalese, three Sierra Leoneans, two Guineans, and one Ivorian—15 men and nine women, including six minors, officials said.
The migrants intercepted at Jinack were later handed over to the immigration post in Barra for further processing, while those detained in Farafenni remained in the department’s custody. Authorities said they had confiscated the group’s belongings, including luggage and mobile phones, as part of the ongoing investigation.
The Immigration Department said it remained committed to curbing irregular migration through intelligence-led operations and closer cooperation with other security agencies and partners.
“The Department will continue to intensify efforts to dismantle migrant smuggling networks, protect vulnerable persons, and promote safe, legal, and orderly migration while safeguarding lives,” the department said in its statement.
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