Police have apprehended five shop owners in Serekunda for engaging in physical altercation with officers assigned to the road clearing task force, resulting in some uniformed men sustaining non-life threatening injuries.

The alleged assailants are currently detained at the Serekunda Police station pending charges.

Speaking at the scene, King Colley, mobile traffic police commissioner vowed to ensure the suspects face the full force of the law. 

He explained that this incident happened when his team arrived at a shop where materials had been placed on the designated no-occupancy roadside. The officers instructed the shop owners, but they claimed that a customer purchased them and they were waiting for the buyer to collect them.

 “After waiting for these people for 40 minutes to take back their materials inside their shop, my team intervened to forfeit the materials. During this process, the shop owners attacked my men with chairs and injured some of them. In response, we used tear gas and arrested them. We will ensure they face the consequences under the law, which will serve as a historic lesson.”

Meanwhile, Police spokesman Modou Musa Sissawo added: “Fortunately, their injuries are not very serious, and we have arrested them [suspects] and they will be charged for obstructing the officers in execution of their duties.”

By Adama Makasuba