Sierra Leone police alerts public to fake dollars circulating in the country

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 4 August 2020:

Sierra Leone police yesterday published a statement warning the public about a large quantity of fake dollars that are making the rounds in the country, which could create serious problem for the economy and fuel organsied crime.

“The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) wishes to inform the general public that there are quantities of fake United States Dollars currently in circulation in Sierra Leone. In view of this, the SLP would like to advise everyone to exercise maximum precaution when transacting in United States’ currency notes,” the statement reads.

Calling on the support of the public to help stem this problem, the police media and public relations unit says that: “Against this backdrop, the general public is advised and at the same time requested to inform the Police of anyone positively suspected of transacting and/or circulating fake United States’ Dollars in the Country.

“You are also encouraged to assist the Police arrest and prosecute anyone suspected to be involved or engaged in circulating these fake currency notes in the market.”

Anyone with information should contact the Sierra Leone Police Headquarters at George Street, Freetown; or call any of their telephone contact numbers: (+232)77261070/79509896 immediately.

In another development, the Sierra Leone police yesterday announced that it is clamping down on commercial vehicle operators that are short-changing passengers, by dropping them off part-way through their journey before arriving at their paid destination.

This is what the police said in a statement, dubbed – “OPERATION RESTORE ORDER”: 

“The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) has observed with dismay that drivers of commercial vehicles plying the East of Freetown up to Waterloo, are failing to take passengers to their rightful destinations.

“Conscious of the untold suffering this act is causing to passengers, the Freetown East Region has launched “Operation Restore Order” which aims to boost Police efforts at all strategic loading points, thereby ensuring that commercial drivers take passengers to their actual destinations.

“This move is predicated on the need to fulfil its obligation to the people of Sierra Leone and to mitigate and forestall the unnecessary sufferings passengers would have to undergo in the hands of wicked and insensitive drivers.

“The SLP therefore views the act of disembarking passengers halfway to their rightful destination as unlawful, inhumane, and outright wickedness.

“Knowing that this operation demands coordination, collaboration, and cooperation, the Freetown-East Region would like to inform the public that the operation is jointly undertaken with the Office of National Security (ONS), The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), and the Sierra Leone Motor Drivers Union.”

But concerns are being raised about the involvement of a trigger-happy military, in helping the police tackle what many see as law enforcement matter, especially given the poor track record of the military in dealing with internal civilian engagment.

After the shooting dead of at least 6 young people in Makeni last month and seriously injuring dozens more (Photo above), there are calls for the military to be usefully deployed in national farming and road maintenance projects across the country, rather than getting involved in helping the police maintain law and order in Sierra Leone.

Since the Makeni massacre last month, and despite calls for an independent inquiry, the government has refused to publish the names of those involved in conducting the inquiry as well as the terms of reference and date the inquiry will start.

5 Comments

  1. If the Sierra Leone police and military are so concerned about fake dollars in circulation, or passengers being dropped off half way through to their intended destination, I wonder how much thought they’ve given to the general population of Sierra Leone, that has never been given the opportunity to reach their intended destination due to our corrupt government officials. Corrupt governments over the years, using our country’s natural resources have prevented us from reaching the destination we undertook on the 27th of April 1961. With all the promises we will able to stand on our two feet once we castaway the yoke of colonialism. Instead we ended up with a corrupt police state. Completely lost in the jungle of corruption.Never knowing the way out.

    CORRUPTION BREEDS CORRUPTION. Maybe, the drivers are using the tricks they learnt from the politicians, and are trying to stop you guys from robbing them. Half the time the OKEKE man and PODA PODA man and the DREG MAN, sees you guys as highway robbers in police and military uniforms. Rather than drive all the way, they try to avoid your so called check points, by collecting their fares, do a U-turn, at least at the end of their shift they can make some income to feed their families, rather than feed a state sanctioned corrupt system.

    As for the fake dollars, the sooner you find the source the better. Recently, the Libyan state have had a similar problem where their country is flooded with fake corrency. It undemines an already struggling economy by putting up inflationary pressures on the economy, and as it stands, thats the last thing Sierra Leone and the economy needs. May God bless Sierra Leone.

    • Thanks Mr. Young4na. It really beggars belief that a small country like ours, and despite the natural and human resources we have, some part of the country, especially in the far north of the country, Falaba, the southern parts Tonkolili, and in Port loko district, Kambia, Pujehun, I can go on forever, don’t have enough tared roads that connects this tiny little Country. Even some parts of Freetown, the feeder roads, drivers have to run the gauntlet of keeping their motor vehicles on the roads, due to their bad conditions.

      The damaged to their vehicles and the repair bill is incalculable. How can you justify buying a sixty thousand dollars car, and drive it on pot hole filled roads, and say you are working for the interest of our country? There are other countries in Africa that are doing okay. Botswana, Namibia, Gabon, former genocide suffered country Rwanda. Bottom line is, if we get rid of corruption in our country, which is the main source of our problems, We will all one day wake up to a better and different Sierra Leone. We don’t want to be like Guinea or South Sudan. That’s the power of running a transparent government.

      Even those politicians that have failed to see the big picture will be surprised. Visit the middle east, and see how those tiny gulf states make use of their natural resources. Sierra Leone, at the very least should able to feed its population, and provide good roads, and 24hours electricity. NO CHILD OR FAMILY SHOULD BE LEFT BEHIND. THEY SHOULD NOT GO TO BED HUNGRY OR DIE OF MALNUTRITION. May God bless Sierra Leone.

  2. According to my understanding, the announcement came as a warning message for the nation to be aware of the ongoing scheme in the country. As the criminals are always trying to survive also sabotage the gov’t in any how they could. Let’s assume that the gov’t didn’t do anything about this, then what would be your reaction? We are not protected. No matter what the Bio administration does, even turning this country into gold, the haters would never say okay.

    People sending innocent young men to their death row to strike or demonstrate against the gov’t like what happened in the town of Makeni, telling their own children, brothers and sisters not to go out, but instead supporting another man’s to face guns and bullets. Don’t you believe that you will give an account of all your actions to your creator? Yes of course some of you will say “I don’t care”. Well let me say this to you, we do care. Sierra Leone is ours. I believe the moderator of this noble plaform should examine all languages we use. Yes let us attack but we have to be cautious. How the other nations will rate us as patriotic Sierra Leoneans.

    Don’t you love your country? do you like criminals to be overfloated in your country and committing whatever crime they could? Is this what we call patriotism? Let’s abolish hate as we have done it to slave trade in the 17th and 1800s. I see no African states that is developing hate for their leaders ever like Sierra Leone. Instead of sending these young guys on the street to demonstrate why don’t you come down yourself? We need peace – no more war ok. May God protect this country Sierra Leone.

  3. And who is it among you millions languishing daily in abject poverty in Sierra Leone that will be utterly surprised to know that there are huge amounts of Fake dollars and possibly countless sums of other hard currencies circulating freely in a dysfunctional country ruled by fraudsters and arrogant Con-men? Its no big deal to me at all and shouldn’t be – After all when lawless people are in power,it is no secret that criminal seditious behaviors like counterfeiting drug trafficking and money-laundering become widely acceptable norms by those who have been subjected to economic disenfranchisement as their legit means of everyday survival. Hey!Camels are known to struggle and travel vast deserts and foxes hunt and thrive in remote jungles – its now an cruel SLPP jungle out there now – let the wolves and foxes feel at ease to come out of the shadows and play.(lol)

    Its always been clear to me that the priorities of this government are completely misplaced: instead of wisely using the military and police for the purposes of tightly securing our borders they are are being used to kill unarmed citizens, while our borders are indiscriminately left wide open at various points just like gigantic open street drains and gutters that are accessible to any rat, fat filthy and dirty being accompanied by their personal demons that anxiously desires to enter our beloved high-minded upstanding Sierra Leone.

    Again, I have always maintained that our entire military systems,security and defense structures should be overhauled,carefully reorganized and streamlined for the purposes of reducing cost and also for enhancing performance efficiency if truly it is our ambition for our little struggling nation to make any kind of sustainable progress.Why keep on wasting our meager resources in a profitless scheme designed to maintain the sizes of the huge protruding potbellies of lazy unproductive puppets in boots and khaki uniforms that have never even tried to fire a loaded weapon at an invading enemy instead of on harmless innocent civilians?(lol)

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