The Gambia’s minister of Interior has dismissed claims that the country is becoming a hub for illegal drugs. 

Yankuba Sonko blamed misinformation being perpetrated on social media by individuals and groups bent on smearing The Gambia’s reputation and undermining its fight against illicit drugs. 

Sonko made the statement at a ceremony to destroy illegal drugs seized by police and drug enforcement officers in Cape Point. 

“There is a growing trend in sharing misleading information intended to misinform our youths on drug matters and this has cost the lives of many people who fall victim to drugs,” he said. 

“We have also observed that young people, particularly girls, are increasingly engaged in abuse of controlled drugs and most of them are influenced by lifestyles they saw on the internet and other mediums.”

The director general of the Drug Law Enforcement agency (DLEAG) Bakary Gassama added that misinformation about illicit drugs have drastically increased in the social media space. 

Four tonnes of illegal drugs including cannabis, hashish, cocaine with a street value of D109 million were destroyed.