Three employees of the Sierra Leone Airport Authority Abdul Thollu Bangura, Sahr Tengbeh and Sheku Kamara with the Head of the Operational Support Division, Port Loko Foday Dumbuya testified before Justice Nicolas Browne Marke at the High court over weekend in the ongoing cocaine trial.
In their testimony, Abdul Thorllu Bangura told the court that he and his assistant were on duty on the 12th last year when a phone rang and the caller instructed them to make necessary arrangements for an expectant aircraft from Kinshasa via Ivory Coast. He told the court that because of his position as air traffic controller he never objected to the idea but only waited for confirmation from Roberts International Air Service control for details which he said never came.
Continuing further, he said later that day one Ebenezer Macauley took a landing clearance which he communicated to the various departments concerned. At midnight the next day he testified, the Nautical Information Officer Ibrahim Manley went with two white guys to the control tower room to enquire about the delay of the aircraft.
He said he observed that they were restless as they were moving up and down, the cause of which he said he did not understand.
The air craft controller further testified that several calls were made on the control room set but the voices were distorted and that at a particular point in time one of the white visitors attempted to grab the set from him an action that was repeated.
He thus told the court that when the particular flight finally arrived it was flying low as it was never given permission to land as the run-away light was out. The plane he went on was allowed to land by the acting General Manager, J.M Brima on technical grounds.
The other prosecution witness, Sahr George Tengbeh who is the Aviation technician too said he received a call from the control tower but refused to respond to it but that when he returned to work the following day, the seventh accused, Chernor Bah in the company of the fourth accused, Mohamed Sesay met him and the seventh accused informed him about a flight that will be refueling at the airport.
He said he questioned why the run-away track was not lit if a flight was to come but after waiting in vain, the flight did not come only to return for duty the following morning to be shocked with the news of a plane loaded with cocaine.
The other witness, Sheku Musa Kamara testified exactly what his boss Abdul Thorllu Bangura testified. The OSD boss testified that he responded swiftly to an anonymous caller informing him of seven white guys in a jeep heading for Freetown.
He said he was surprised to have learnt that the white guys stayed at 7 Sheriff Street in Port Loko.
The trial continues on Monday January 12th
By Jon- Bu