Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – A cross-border vehicle investigation involving Senegal and The Gambia is raising questions over an alleged scheme in which cars rented in Dakar are reportedly brought into The Gambia, their identities allegedly altered, and the vehicles subsequently sold.
At the center of the allegations is Fallou Jallow, born on 26 February 1993 in Banjul, who is accused of renting a Toyota Land Cruiser 300 (LC300) in Dakar from a Senegalese member of parliament affiliated with Pastef and bringing the vehicle into The Gambia.
According to the allegations, Jallow subsequently sold the Land Cruiser with number plate AA-367- RD to a Gambian car dealer for D4 million.
The vehicle has reportedly been traced to the Senegalese owner, while Interpol and the Senegalese Embassy in The Gambia have been informed of the case.
But claims now emerging suggest that the Land Cruiser may be only one case in a wider pattern.
Allegations of repeated vehicle rentals
Prado Altered in The Gambia before being recovered and returned to its owner in Dakar
Sources making the allegations describe Jallow as someone allegedly familiar with this type of transaction. They claim he has repeatedly rented vehicles in Dakar, transported them to The Gambia, and allegedly arranged for their registration details to be changed before attempting to sell them.
Several vehicle owners in Dakar are reportedly said to have been affected.
One case cited involves a Toyota Prado belonging to a Senegalese resident. According to the account, the owner was able to recover the vehicle after Interpol and the Senegalese Embassy in The Gambia intervened.
If substantiated, the allegations would raise questions about whether The Gambia is being used as a destination for vehicles obtained under false pretenses in Senegal and subsequently introduced into the local second-hand vehicle market.
It would also raise questions for dealers: what checks are being carried out to establish the ownership and provenance of vehicles offered for sale, particularly when they arrive from across the border?
Pressure for arrest and investigation
Those making the allegations are calling on Senegalese authorities to seek Jallow’s arrest through the Gambian authorities and for the reported vehicle transactions to be investigated.
The case could potentially require cooperation between Gambian and Senegalese law enforcement agencies to establish how the vehicles entered The Gambia, whether their registration documents were altered, and whether any dealers knowingly purchased vehicles whose ownership was disputed.
For investigators, the D4 million Land Cruiser transaction could provide a starting point for establishing the chain of ownership and determining who handled the vehicle after it crossed into The Gambia.
The involvement of Interpol and the Senegalese Embassy, if confirmed, could also turn the matter into a broader cross-border investigation rather than a dispute between a vehicle owner and an individual accused of taking the car.
Questions over the Pastef lawmaker’s vehicle
The case also raises a separate and potentially sensitive question concerning the Senegalese lawmaker.
If the Land Cruiser was a privately owned vehicle, the circumstances under which it was rented would be primarily a matter between the owner and the renter.
But if it was an official, parliamentary, or otherwise publicly provided vehicle, questions would arise over whether a serving lawmaker was authorized to rent it out and under what conditions.
That distinction has yet to be established.
The immediate issue, however, is the alleged movement and resale of the vehicle in The Gambia and whether the transaction was part of a broader pattern.
It remains unclear whether Jallow has been formally charged in Senegal or The Gambia. He has also not publicly responded to the accusations presented in the reports.
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