Sierra Leone’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), William Fayia Sellu, has officially commissioned a state-of-the-art Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU) Forensic Laboratory at Hastings, reports said on Tuesday.
This facility marks a major milestone in upgrading the nation’s criminal justice system, specifically enhancing the police’s capacity to investigate transnational organized crime and illicit drug trafficking through scientific, evidence-based policing.
The laboratory provides a modern working environment designed to improve the collection and analysis of forensic data, which IGP Sellu noted is crucial for securing convictions since scientific evidence is highly credible in court. The equipment and services were intentionally relocated from Connaught Hospital to Hastings to grant the Sierra Leone Police full operational control. In tandem with this launch, the IGP directed the redeployment of trained officers to reactivate a dormant forensic lab at the Kingtom headquarters, a move aligned with his broader vision of institutional modernization, specialized training, and infrastructure reform.
The project received strong praise from across the security sector. Chief Andrew Jaiah Kaikai, Executive Director of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), called the facility a strategic investment against narcotics, while ACP Alieu Jalloh of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) emphasized that forensic analysis offers greater reliability than eyewitness testimony. Attended by key stakeholders—including the Office of National Security and the Police Executive Management Board—the ceremony concluded with a collective call to strengthen inter-agency collaboration to combat organized crime and protect national security.
ABJ/APA