The Particulars of Offence disclosed that the accused persons conspired with other persons unknown to defraud the Business Director of Best Supermarket, Mohamed Harajli over four hundred and fourteen million Leones.
Testifying in court, Detective Police Constable Sidie Mansaray intimated that he is attached to the Criminal Investigation Department headquarter on Padema Road in Freetown, and recalled the incident of 9 March 2018.
He informed his audience that on the aforementioned date, he was on duty at the Criminal Investigation Department headquarter, when he received a transferred case file from Bo West Police Division.
According to Detective Sidie Mansaray, he received the said case file together with six accused persons who were in the dock. He stated that after perusing the file, he realized that it was a fraud matter reported to the police by the Business Manager of Best Supermarket, Mohamed Harajli.
The witness further disclosed that on 14 March 2018 Detective Superintendent A.A. Mansaray, Head of the Economic Crime Syndicate at the Criminal Investigation Department, himself and a team of detectives went to Bo to conduct further investigation.
He narrated that upon their arrival in Bo, they obtained additional statements from the complainant, Mohamed Harajli, who handed over one memory stick containing video footages of the alleged fraud incident; a list of items stolen at the Best Supermarket; copy of a spread sheet of sales income and deficit and a copy of print-outs from a sale machine dated 2 January 2018 and 1st March 2018.
Detective Sidie Mansaray continued to inform the court that the team conducted a search warrant at the premises of the 1st accused Fatmata Kamara at Gbendema Street in Bo and discovered one bank identity card bearing the name of Kadiatu Kamara, one Union Trust Bank identity card bearing the name of Fatmata Kamara. The search warrant was produced and tendered in evidence.
He added that on the 19 March 2018 and 20 March 2018, Detective Inspector Macmillan and himself obtained contemporaneous interviews from all six accused persons separately by observing the judges rule and they all validated their statements by appending their signatures.
The witness explained that on 21 March 2018, Detective Assistant Superintendent of Police, A B M Kamara and himself charged the first accused Fatmata Kamara and second accused Mariama Conteh with the offence of Larceny by Servant and charged the remaining accused persons with the offence of Conspiracy to Defraud, contrary to law.