HSI Agent Testifies on Tracking Correa's Movements Through Western Union Transfers

 

Photo: (Alleged Jungler Micheal Sang Correa)

By Samba Jawo reporting from the USA

In a gripping testimony that could sway the course of a high-profile investigation, an HSI agent detailed how they meticulously tracked the movements of prominent figure Correa through a series of Western Union transfers. The agent revealed that these financial transactions not only mapped Correa's whereabouts but also unveiled a network of connections that raises serious questions about the extent of his operations. As the case unfolds, the implications of this testimony could redefine the approach to tracking financial crime in the digital age.

Mathew Gifford, a special agent and National Program Manager with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) told jurors how his team tracked Correa’s whereabouts using Western Union transfer records.

During the third day of Correa's trial in Denver, Colorado, Gifford described how the investigation got started. Stationed in Dakar, Senegal, for five years, Gifford visited Banjul, the capital of Gambia, to gather information from Correa’s alleged victims.

“We knew Correa was in the U.S., but we couldn't pinpoint which state he was in," Gifford told the court. It was only when they discovered Correa might have family in Gambia that they turned to Western Union to trace his financial activity. They found that Correa had been sending money to his family using his diplomatic passport details,” narrated.

Testifying in the same trial, Yaya Darboe, described Correa in those days as a disciplined and respectful military officer.

Darboe also explained how he learned of the 2006 coup plot in March of that year, citing frustration with the army and the country's conditions as factors that led him to join the movement.

He (Darboe) also viewed Musa Jammeh, one of the jungler, as brutal, further describing him as a person in charge of the torture sessions carried out by the Junglers at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) before his death.

In his cross-examination, Jared Westbroek, the attorney for the defendant asked the witness (Darboe) whether he was aware that former President Jammeh used to kill his opponents in the oppositions; Darboe replied in negative—saying he did not know of that.

State prosecutors narrated to the court how the accused and other junglers would transport suspects of the 2006 coup— from state prison to NIA headquarters in Banjul, only to suffocate, beat and torture them.

He further recounts his arrest in 2006 and was taken to the NIA for interrogation, a panel he told he was not involved with the coup, the jungle, such as Correa, didn’t want to hear that—they started torturing him with all kinds of tricks. He remembered that Bora Colley and Malick Jatta, who were the only jungle, didn’t torture him.

This story is edited by Ousman A. Marong