By Emma Black
Court has sent Cline Town headman, Ibrahim Lesford to twenty (20) years’ imprisonment after convicting him on two counts of unlawful possession of prohibited drugs.
The ruling was delivered on 16 February 2026 at the Main Law Courts Building in Freetown by Mark Ngegba, according to a statement from the Judiciary of Sierra Leone.
Lesford was charged under Section 8(a) of the National Drugs Control Act of 2008 for unlawfully possessing controlled substances. Prosecutors told the court that on 4 October 2024, in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, the accused was found with 30.5 grams of kush and 25.5 grams of tramadol without lawful authority. He initially denied both charges, leading to a full trial.
In his address to the court, Justice Ngegba emphasised that the prosecution was legally required to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
To meet this burden, the State called three witnesses. The first, Assistant Superintendent of Police Joseph Stevens, a forensic analyst attached to the Transnational Organised Crime Unit, testified that he received suspected drug exhibits for analysis on 10 October 2024. According to him, laboratory examinations confirmed that the dried leaves tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids commonly known as kush, while the tablets tested positive for tramadol hydrochloride, with traces of fentanyl, pethidine, and levorphanol. He informed the court that all the substances were prohibited narcotics.
The second witness, Detective Police Constable Baindu Winifred Dassama of the Criminal Investigation Department, told the court that the accused was arrested on 4 October 2024 during a drug operation led by ASP Francis Momoh Tommy. She testified that 320 wraps of suspected kush, additional loose quantities of the substance, and five cards of tramadol tablets were recovered from the accused and later handed over to the exhibit clerk.
A third witness, Detective Sergeant Buya Abu Koroma from the Exhibit Office at Ross Road Police Station, confirmed that the recovered items were properly registered and secured. He explained that samples were forwarded for forensic analysis, while the remaining exhibits were tendered before the court.
Testifying in his defence, Lesford described himself as the community headman of Cline Town and denied ownership of the drugs. He claimed that he had left home to purchase medication for his wife when police conducted a raid in the area. According to his account, an unknown man allegedly entered his house and left a bag containing drugs on his couch before fleeing. He further alleged that he was assaulted by police officers and coerced into signing a statement. His wife was not allowed to testify due to legal restrictions under the Criminal Procedure Act.
In his judgment, Justice Ngegba ruled that the prosecution had successfully established that the accused was in possession of both kush and tramadol. He noted that the defence failed to provide any lawful justification for possessing the quantities recovered.
“The evidence before this court clearly shows that the accused was unlawfully in possession of the said drugs,” Justice Ngegba stated. “Accordingly, I sentence him to twenty (20) years’ imprisonment.”
The judgment brings the case to a close, reinforcing the judiciary’s stance against the possession and circulation of illegal drugs in Sierra Leone.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Monday, 23rd February 2026 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
