The proprietor of Uncle Sam Security Services, Mr. Alieu S.B.M. Jallow, and a former employee of the security outfit, Mr. Martin Brady, a British national, are reported to have been arrested by personnel of the Gambia Immigration Department (GID). The duo were arrested last Friday following the discovery by GID that the said Mr. Brady had started work at Uncle Sam before regularising his immigration status.

It would be recalled that Uncle Sam recently carried a disclaimer in the local newspapers informing the general public that Mr. Martin Brady was no longer working with the security firm and that his illegal immigration status was not the responsibility of the firm.

In an interview with The Point yesterday, the Immigration PRO, Superintendent Olimatou Jammeh-Sonko, said that The Gambia is a sovereign state operating on the rule of law.

She stated that the disclaimer article in the local media prompted the Immigration Department to react by arresting both men of Uncle Sam Security Services. PRO Jammeh- Sonko warned all institutions or establishments that they could not hire the services of foreign experts and shy away from their immigration responsibility. She said section 5 (1) of the Immigration Act cap. 16:02 Laws of The Gambia, clearly states that no proprietor of any institution or establishment shall engage the services of a non-Gambian without the consent in writing of the Director General of the Gambia Immigration Department. He posited that it is the sole responsibility of proprietors of institutions or establishments that engage the services of non-Gambians to ensure that their immigration status is in order or face the consequences of the full force of the law.

Meanwhile both Mr Jallow and Mr Brady are helping the immigration officials in their investigation.