Gambiaj.com – (BISSAU) – The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) of Guinea-Bissau reports that a prosecutor was arrested on Sunday, April 21st, for suspected drug trafficking upon arrival in Lisbon from a flight from Bissau. The public relations office’s statement did not identify the prosecutor who was detained. But trustworthy sources in Bissau have informed Gambiaj.com that Eduardo Mancanha is the prosecutor under investigation. Mancanha was given permission to study for a PhD in Portugal.
Our sources claim that Eduardo Mancanha was detained for having hashish on him.
Guinea-Bissau’s Public Prosecutor’s Office was notified on Sunday “through appropriate channels” of the “arrest of a magistrate for alleged drug trafficking.”
The Public Prosecutor’s Office is keeping an eye on the situation and is awaiting further details. It pledges to hold the magistrate criminally and disciplinarily accountable in the event that the claimed crime is verified.
Speaking to journalists upon his arrival in Bissau from Portugal, where he had attended the 50th anniversary celebrations for April 25th, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló expressed sadness at the arrest in Portugal of a public prosecutor who was reportedly caught with drugs. He highlighted that the case is being resolved between the two countries.
President Embalo said that the Superior Council of the Judiciary of the Public Prosecutor’s Office has suspended the prosecutor and directed that disciplinary action be taken.
The Guinean President stated that the situation “is making a fuss” in Guinea-Bissau “more than in Portugal,” where the arrested prosecutor is being treated “in line with his status.”
Sissoco Embalo remarked, “It’s nothing out of this world; many countries in the world have had magistrates involved in something like this,” emphasizing that he is not happy about Guinea-Bissau’s reputation.
Embalo emphasized that the issue is being handled by the magistrates of Guinea-Bissau and Portugal. He also used the occasion to mention that “a boat of drugs was caught, but without fuss,” in a nearby nation lately.
