By Makutu Manneh
The Gambia Immigration Department (GID) said it has detained 107 people suspected of attempting irregular migration, commonly referred to locally as “backway” journeys, in a series of coordinated operations carried out over two days across five communities.
In a statement, the department said its Border Patrol Unit in Tanji intercepted 94 would-be migrants and two alleged facilitators on Friday, April 17, in the coastal communities of Gunjur, Tujereng, and Sinchang Village. The group included six Gambians, 51 Senegalese, 16 Guineans, 11 Malians, six Sudanese, two Somalis, one Ivorian, and one Yemeni national.
On the same day, officers also detained eight Guinean nationals along the Sami Road in the North Bank Region. A day earlier, on April 16, the North Bank patrol unit apprehended five additional individuals in Mayamba Village.
Separately, the department said another 24 migrants were intercepted during a night operation on April 15 in Kerr Gallo. That group included 12 Guineans, 10 Malians, and two Senegalese, among them 10 men, seven women, and five minors.
“The Gambia Immigration Department’s Border Patrol Unit continues to demonstrate operational effectiveness in disrupting irregular migration routes through sustained vigilance,” the statement said.
The agency added that the operations form part of broader efforts to curb irregular migration while promoting “safe, orderly and regular migration pathways.”
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