By: Amara Thoronka
The Sierra Leone Police have arrested 98 foreign nationals in Waterloo, 40 kilometers from the country’s capital Freetown. The foreign nationals, mostly Guineans who don’t speak English were arrested inside a compound where they were undergoing military training.
According to the Local Unit Commander of Waterloo Police Division, LUC Musa Brima Bandabla, they received intelligence about these foreign national’s weeks ago and kept an eye on them. He said they conducted a thorough surveillance on them and their temporal home, a private gated compound.
“We arrested 98 foreigners mostly Guineans (84 men and 14 women) who cannot explain their purpose of visit to Sierra Leone. They have no travelling documents or ID cards. They cannot speak English and said they entered the country by road”, LUC Bandabla said.
He went on to note that the foreign nationals were also engaged in combatant training. “They were receiving words of command or combatant training. This kind of training is not meant for civilians and hence a major security concern. That’s why we arrested them”, he said.
The LUC said the suspects told police they are in large numbers and some of their colleagues have gone out of town. Bandabla added that, the suspects will be investigated further to know their motive. “We will transfer the 98 arrested to Freetown for further interrogation because all their activities are suspicious. “If they are connected with any criminal activity, they will be kicked out of the country”, he added.
William Faya Sellu of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Sierra Leone police told DW News that their initial investigations suggest the foreigners are part of a wider criminal network based in Hong Kong. “Our investigation reveals they are part of a criminal network called QNET based in Hong Kong. We will continue investigating them before we come to a final conclusion”, he said.
Faya Sellu also added that, under the ECOWAS free movement agreement, every West African national is free to live in any ECOWAS country. But he/she should not involve in any criminal activity.
Meanwhile, some Sierra Leoneans are not happy with the development. “Looking at the country’s past history, hearing news of foreigners undergoing a militia training in our country is troubling. We don’t want any situation that will disturb the peace we are enjoying or to go back to the past”, a Freetown resident told Claudia Anthony of DW News.
