Gambia’s international footballer, Musa Barrow has lied about his alleged harassment at Banjul International Airport, an investigation has found.
Barrow, 26, who plays for Saudi Pro League club, Al-Taawoun, last week refused to pay Customs duty on goods in his suitcases before exiting the airport. The footballer had justified his decision and accused the GRA officers of harassing and disrespecting him
He said he felt disrespected when he overheard Officer Anna Jarju of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) insisting on him paying customs duty like all other travellers.
He stated that he arrived in the Gambia with five bags three of which belonged to his namesake. He said the officers decided to inspect his two bags one of which contained his personal clothes, football boots, and trainers.
“The other second bags searched had sweets for children at home. The remaining three bags were not opened or checked at all. Yet, officer Anna Jarju insisted on charging D15,000, without explaining how she reached that amount,” he said.
“His concern was not about paying the D15,000.00 discounted or not!. He had just paid D25,000 weeks earlier without hesitation. His problem this time was how he was spoken to and treated.”
But an investigation into the incident by the airport security coordination team has found that the footballer was never harassed or disrespected by GRA’s shift supervisor. Anna Jarju, even when he blatantly refused to settle the customs duty.
The report stated that when the player landed at the airport on 11 July 2025, his five suitcases and that of the other passengers went through mandatory luggage scanning managed by a joint security taskforce comprising the Gambia International Airlines (GIA), Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (DLEA), State Intelligence Services (SIS), Food Safety Unit and public health officials. It added that all of the player’s suitcases were flagged by the image analyst for Customs related concerns.
It added that Mr Barrow refused to engage with GRA officials after being informed that his suitcases were flagged up for Customs inspection. It said a GIA officer, Ousman Yabou and another male Pabulo Jabbi who were at the airport to welcome him, approached Ms Jarju and asked her to waive the duty on his belongings.
“The men promised her that they will come and see her later with a token of appreciation but Anna refused the their request and told them that she has not seen any paperwork that exempts Musa Barrow from paying Customs duty like all the other passengers,” the report stated.
It added that the footballer’s brother and some guys brought the suitcases to Ms Jarju, who was not present during the scanning.
“Despite requests from officers, Mr. Barrow refused to come forward for inspection. His brother opened the luggage on his behalf, but failed to present invoices or supporting documentation for the contents. In the absence of proper valuation documents, customs duties were estimated at D15,000 (D2,500 per suitcase) and later reduced to D10,000. Mr. Barrow, through his brother, claimed he could not pay the amount.”
It further stated that Barrow was later spoken to by Ms Jarju’s supervisor who convinced him to go to the inspection office and speak to the officers. While talking to the officers, he informed them about his charitable organisation.
“Anna advised him to register his charitable organisation and request a duty waiver from the Ministry of Finance but Musa responded that he has no time to go into offices for that. He was eventually allowed to take his suitcases without paying by Buba, the report stated.
“Musa was never detained, His delay at leaving the airport was caused by his refusal to pay customs duty and not the other way round.”
