A Freetown driver is in police custody after officers at the Mile 38 Checkpoint intercepted his vehicle on Saturday and uncovered eleven parcels of substances suspected to be Cannabis Sativa concealed in a specially fashioned hidden compartment beneath the rear seat the latest in a pattern of drug seizures at one of Sierra Leone’s most strategically critical road checkpoints.
The suspect, identified as Mohamed Sheriff, a resident of Kissy in the east of the capital, was reportedly at the wheel of a vehicle bearing registration number AXO 085 when he was flagged down and subjected to a search by personnel attached to the Mile 38 Checkpoint on 9 May 2026.
According to police reports, it was the thoroughness of the search and not the suspect’s outward presentation that led to the discovery. Officers conducting the inspection identified a concealed compartment beneath the rear seat of the vehicle, where the eleven parcels of dry leaves, believed to be Cannabis Sativa, were found tucked away.
The operation was carried out under the tactical command of Superintendent Foday Sorie Fofanah, the Officer Commanding the Mile 38 Checkpoint. Both the suspect and the recovered substances remain in police custody as investigations proceed.
The arrest is the latest in a series of drug-related interceptions at Mile 38, which sits at the main road artery linking Freetown to the country’s interior, making it the unavoidable chokepoint for vehicles travelling in and out of the capital. Sierra Leone’s security architecture has long designated the Mile 38 Checkpoint as a strategic installation, precisely because anyone moving in or out of the capital by road must pass through it a reality that has, over the years, made it a consistent site for the interdiction of contraband.
Superintendent Fofanah’s unit has been particularly active in 2026. In February alone, a joint team of Sierra Leone Police and Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces personnel arrested two suspected drug dealers at the same checkpoint, recovering substances suspected to be Kush from a vehicle they were travelling in. Days later, a separate operation at the checkpoint led by Superintendent Fofanah resulted in the arrest of two individuals after a search of their vehicle uncovered suspected tramadol concealed in the bonnet. A third arrest followed within the same month, when a Guinean national identified as the Drivers’ Union Chairman for vehicles operating between Guinea and Sierra Leone was arrested after suspected kush was found hidden in the boot of his vehicle.
The frequency of these arrests at a single checkpoint raises pointed questions about the volume of narcotics in transit along Sierra Leone’s main road corridors and the robustness of enforcement beyond the handful of well-known interception points.
Saturday’s seizure involved Cannabis Sativa a substance that, despite the national conversation being dominated by the devastation wrought by synthetic drugs like Kush, remains a significant part of Sierra Leone’s drug trafficking landscape. Cannabis cultivation in the country is concentrated in Kambia District and is widely smuggled from Sierra Leone into Guinea and onward to other African nations, Western Asia, Europe, and North America. Demand has declined somewhat with the surging popularity of Kush, but cannabis remains a widely circulated prohibited substance.
Law enforcement complicity has been identified as a persistent challenge in the cannabis trade, with some officers reportedly accepting bribes or reselling seized cannabis a reality that makes transparent chain-of-custody procedures in cases such as this one especially significant.
Sierra Leone has faced mounting scrutiny as a transshipment hub for international drug trafficking, with analysts pointing to prevalent corruption, compromised law enforcement, and apparent complicity by government officials as factors enabling the easy flow of narcotics into and through the country.
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The Sierra Leone Police have confirmed that Mohamed Sheriff and the recovered substances remain in custody while investigations continue. It is expected that, consistent with protocol in similar recent cases at the checkpoint, the matter may be referred to the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) at its headquarters in Hastings for further processing.
Ground Report Africa will continue to monitor the case as it progresses through the justice system.
