Personnel of the Gambia Police Force (GPF), on Monday arrested about 7 suspected thieves involved in fraudulent practices at the Observer Company in Bakau.

The seven are believed to be responsible for the frequent disappearances of copies of the Daily Observer newspaper before the usual circulation. The police’s move was prompted by a tip-off they got that some staff of the Daily Observer (printers and compilers) are in the habit of diverting copies. As a crime network, nestled in the company, this suspected group of criminals has been using the services of a group of vendors who were tasked with the responsibility of selling the stolen copies in the street.

When some members of the  alleged gang were caught red-handed by the police, they were in possession of 200 copies of the Daily Observer, ready to be fraudulently circulated. The suspects are currently in detention at the Kairaba Police Station, helping the police in their investigations.

This sad development comes at a time when management is deploying tremendous efforts to clean up the place by implementing standard principles of transparency. Under this new dispensation that totally breaks off with the era of opacity that had characterised past managements, every member of staff actively participates in the decision making process. This network of alleged professional thieves that the GPF has just dismantled has been working underground over these past years. But fortunately, the wind of change continues to blow…