DEA Operation Backfires

An interesting drama ensued in the Chicken Soup Factory Community, in Gardnersville when a former soldier of the defunct Anti Terrorists Unit or ATU demanded agents of the Drugs Enforcement Agency of DEA to produce alleged gold rings they had taken away from a notorious ghetto without search warrant.

Residents of the community gathered to witness the drama near Chicken Soup Factory Junction, after the men and women from the ghetto led by former ATU Military Police Commander Aaron T. Dawolo pursued the DEA officers on the main road, resisting their departure until they provided the rings.

“They did not bring [any] search warrant; in fact they went to … steal; they went to … steal. They gave some of the money back. All the other ones were in question, but mainly [it’s] the gold rings that we are in search of,” said Mr. Dawolo on Saturday, 26 March.

In a complete embarrassing situation, the officers were seen, at some point, trying to publicly screen their own men who were suspected to be in possession of the rings as the folks from the ghetto mounted pressure on them.

They had disembarked their unofficial two mini-vehicles and a motorbike to search their officers, while also thoroughly looking into the vehicle in which they claimed to have placed the rings earlier. Mr. Dawolo had indicated that without any search warrant, the officers broke into their ghetto being run by one Tailer Toe, popularly called “Baby Girl” and allegedly took away money and other things, including the rings.

When engaged on the scene, the second in command of the DEA operation, Officer George Davis, said he could not speak on the matter, referring this paper to his team leader who had already left the scene in connection with case at hand.

The commanding officer had only been identified by Mr. Dawolo as Offcier Julius, while also naming another DEA personnel on the team as Raymond Stan, whom he claimed to have known from their days in the defunct ATU.

The uniformed officers had been accused by Mr. Dawolo and his followers from the ghetto of presenting themselves as visitors and not on arrest and seizure operations. Darwolo and others claimed to have been shocked by their (the DEA Officers) sudden change when they broke into the ghetto and took money from a bag allegedly containing some L$40,000 plus.

Though Dawolo appeared to be shielding the actual business being run at the ghetto as he only claimed that Baby Girl sold slippers, potatoe greens and gas, by-standers anonymously hinted of some

dangerous substances being traded there.

“We got to go [and] check again, because after we checked we found out that the money and two gold rings got missing … and the two commanders called me, they said Five Star come; we want to talk to you. We went to work, he called the other men, they briefed them and they checked and they reported one ring and which of course, one was remaining,” said Dawolo.

According to him, the officers had admitted leaving the two gold rings in their car, but only found one, while the remaining one could not be found. “We have not received one more and they acted unprofessional. That’s not the work they came to do on the street. They are even spoiling DEA name more and we said we were going to reach it to the main authority,” he said.

After the encounter with the officers, Dawolo said they gave some of the money back, but they were still in search of the gold ring.

By Winston W. Parley-Edited by George Barpeen