Justice Reginald Fynn JA has granted fifty thousand new Leones bail and two sureties to an alleged human trafficker, Kandeh Samura.

The bail condition states that, one of the sureties to be a leader in a recognized Mosque or Church in a community.

In his testimony before the court, the accused Kandeh Sesay said he was an Agent for one Patrick Campbell, a student at the Sierra Leone Law School, who does Shengen Visa processing.

According the accused, Campbell usually succeeds and has succeeded for two immigrants Alhaji Kamara and Binta Bah, both formally of Yams Farm community who now live in Belgium and Germany.

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Hesajd it was because of those success stories that Mr. Alpha Gbla, who was the first Prosecution Witness in the matter before the Court expressed interest for his younger brother Gibrilla Gbla to travel.

Samura said he presented Gbla’s younger brother’s Passport to Mr. Patrick Campbell for a Schengen visa to enable him travel to Europe.

He explained that Campbell got him the program, and he Gibrilla Gbla traveled on road from Freetown to Conakry, and on a flight from Conakry to Ivory Coast. He said in Ivory Coast, Gbla could not meet his scheduled date for interview. Due to delays in Ivory Coast, the second brother of Gibrilla Gbla, Mohamed Gbla also became Interested in the program and had to join his brother in Ivory Coast for the program.

They went for the interview after they had paid the visa fees, but they were not issued the visa and they decided to return to Sierra Leone, and on their arrival, the complainant Alpha requested to meet Mr. Campbell for a refund.

Samura the accused said he only received twenty-one thousand new Leones From the complainant and the bulk payment of one thousand two-hundred United States Dollars was paid to Campbell for documentation purposes.

The accused revealed that during the documentation process, Samura said it was clear that there would be no refundable fees, and because the program did not go through Mr. Alpha Gbla who is the complainant informed that he needed a refund.

But told Alpha Gbla that things are difficult with him but promised that with time he would refund the money.

The accused Kandeh Samura said he was later arrested and taken to the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) where he was detained for thirty-one days and taken to the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) where he spent another three days before he was finally charged to court.

While in remand at the Correctional Centre, the accused said his family members raised funds up to thirty thousand Leones which was paid to the complainant Mr. Kandeh Samura, an elderly man said the complainant Alpha Gola is a family friend and resides within the same Yams Farm Community in Freetown, and also used to render classes for his children in various subjects including English Language.

The accused faces three counts ranging from conspiracy commit human trafficking, human trafficking to migrant smuggling contrary to the Anti-Iluman Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act of 2022.

It was alleged that the accused on diverse days between the 1st May 2023 and the 30th September, 2023 at Freetown conspired together with other persons unknown to commit Human Trafficking.

The accused was represented by his Legal Counsel Leon Jenkins Johnson, and State Counsel Jessy Tucker is prosecuting the matter.

The case was adjourned to 17th October, 2024.