By Sanna Camara

In 2024, German police registered 456 Gambian refugee-related suspects in drug-related crimes. Although this number fell substantially from 720 in the previous year (-36.7 percent), Gambians still ranked among the nationalities most frequently appearing in this category.

“Historically, Gambians have often been associated in German policing and media discussions with small-scale street-level drug markets in several urban areas. The 2024 figures suggest that drug offences remain relevant, even though they dropped significantly from 2023 to 2024, most probably explained by a partial cannabis legalization in Germany in April 2024,” our source explained.

Since this legalisation in 2024, the number of cannabis related drug offences decreased among all nationalities, not just Gambians.

sexual offences and violence cases

The Gambian suspects in sexual offences and violence cases is also listed as one of top 20 nationalities “in absolute numbers.” However, their share in comparison to the other 19 is smaller than in the above two issues.

Regarding sexual offences, 52 Gambian refugee-related suspects were registered in 2024 (down from 68 the previous year, -23.5%).

Compared with nationalities such as Syrians, Afghans or Ukrainians, Gambians constitute only a rather small share of suspects in this offence group.

A similar picture emerges for violent offences (“violent crimes and offences against personal freedom”).

Some 544 Gambian suspects were recorded in 2024 (down 13.8% from 631 in the previous year).

“Violence therefore is an important component of Gambian overall offence profile in Germany,” our source further explains.

However, in comparison to other nationalities, it does not appear leading (because of community size and because their overrepresentation in relation to the own community is not so high as in drug dealing).

Taken together, the data suggest that the Gambian profile is characterized by a comparatively high share of repeat suspects (‘black sheep’) but also visible drug-related offences.

Editor’s Note: the German Police database (BKA) report measures police suspects, not court convictions. It records only offences that come to the attention of the police. Moreover, Gambians are a relatively small population. Statistical fluctuations among a few hundred individuals can therefore produce much larger percentage changes than among populations numbering hundreds of thousands.