In two coordinated operations over the weekend along the country’s coastal belt, the Gambia Immigration Department reported that it had apprehended 177 potential migrants, highlighting an increased effort to stop irregular migration and dismantle smuggling networks.
The department said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page that the first operation happened at Lamin Lodge on Saturday, January 3, 2026, after officers at the coastal belt station responded to what it called “intelligence” suggesting that migrants were being held in a private compound.
According to the statement, a suspected smuggling agent was arrested following a search carried out with an informant present. Officers were led by the suspect to a nearby complex, where 70 suspected migrants were apprehended.
“A suspected smuggling agent was arrested during a search that was carried out while the informant was present. The suspect then led officers to a compound where seventy suspected migrants were being held,” the statement stated.
Two days later, on Monday, January 5, a second operation was conducted in Batokunku, a village along the seaside. In what the department described as an attempted irregular departure, 107 more migrants were detained by officers from the GID’s Migration Management Unit.
Both Gambian and foreign people were among those intercepted, the statement said: 60 Gambians, 22 Senegalese, 17 Guineans, and eight others from unnamed nations. There were six children, 15 women, and 92 males in the group.
The immigration department reaffirmed its “zero-tolerance” attitude for people who organize or facilitate irregular migration and said the operations were a part of a larger campaign against migrant smuggling. Additionally, it urged communities to collaborate more closely with law enforcement, stating that public support was crucial to breaking up smuggling networks and averting maritime fatalities.
