Freetown, Sierra Leone – Three employees of Sea Coach Express have been dragged before the Pademba Road Magistrate Court No. 5 in Freetown to answer to multiple charges of fraud and embezzlement.
The accused—Sheku Jimmy, 40, a supervisor and language officer; Hassan Kamara, 38, a cashier; and Mohamed Kamara, 41, also a cashier—made their first appearance before Magistrate Mary Julian Gbloh on charges brought under Section 17(1)(b) of the Larceny Act of 1916.
According to court documents, the alleged offenses took place between February 12 and April 1, 2025, around the vicinity of Lungi International Airport in the Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom, Port Loko District.
The trio is accused of conspiring with unnamed individuals to defraud Sea Coach by embezzling 63 ferry tickets, each valued at $45, totaling approximately Le73,710.
Prosecuting the matter, Sergeant 5598 Santigie Koroma presented Micah Tanimu, a technician and operations manager at Sea Coach, as the first witness. Tanimu testified that he was alerted to discrepancies in ticket records by Abdul Sankoh, an IT officer, on March 26 while at the company’s Aberdeen head office.
A subsequent internal investigation revealed that ten of the suspicious tickets had already been used and were traced to the third accused, Mohamed Kamara. The tickets were reportedly stored on his mobile phone.
When questioned, Mohamed Kamara claimed he received the tickets from Sheku Jimmy, who in turn stated they came from Hassan Kamara. Hassan, however, admitted to getting the tickets from Jimmy, who alleged he had obtained them from a customer identified only as “Mr. Bangura.”
The accused also disclosed that a batch of tickets was sold for $450, with the money sent via Orange Money to the said Mr. Bangura. Investigators captured screenshots of the transaction receipts, which are expected to be submitted as evidence.
Magistrate Gbloh adjourned the matter to July 1, 2025, to allow the prosecution to print and tender the receipts and for further consideration of bail for the three defendants.
The accused remain in custody and are yet to enter a plea.
