Abdourahman Jallow, a 27-year-old taxi driver from Tallinding, was allegedly scammed by an unknown stranger on Thursday night, 4th April, while on a road trip. The incident occurred during a journey from Manjai to Serekunda, where the perpetrator disappeared with Jallow’s Samsung A50 telephone and unpaid D3,500.

According to Jallow, the stranger, whose voice sounded Senegalese, claimed to be a car dealer from Senegal and needed to meet someone around Serekunda Bartez. Jallow drove the man to various locations before ending the trip at Saffiedeen, where the scammer vanished with the phone.

“I borrowed him my telephone to make calls to Senegal, but overheard him saying on the phone that ‘Sheikh is on the line’,” Jallow recounted. “During the call, he abruptly left the car, heading in another direction, leaving me stranded without my phone and unpaid taxi fare.”

Left without means to contact anyone, Jallow found himself stuck in Serekunda, worried about losing his job if he couldn’t return home.

He reported the incident to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) unit at the Serekunda Police Station, where a case file has been opened, and investigations are ongoing.

The CID unit urged the public to be cautious when dealing with strangers and to report any suspicious activities to the authorities.

Meanwhile, Jallow hopes that the police investigation will lead to the apprehension of the scammer and the recovery of his phone.