-As Liberia Faces Reckoning Over Narcotics Trade
By Jerromie S. Walters
MONROVIA – Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung has confirmed that the narcotics consignment seized by joint security forces on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, is valued at over US$300 million, making it the largest drug bust in Liberia’s history—and a warning that the country is becoming a prime transit hub for international cartels.
The operation, conducted along the Roberts International Airport (RIA) highway in Duazon, netted a shipment that dwarfs previous records. Delivering the keynote address at the 16th Edition of the Golden Image Awards later that evening, VP Koung revealed that President Joseph Boakai had convened an emergency meeting following the seizure. He assured the public that the government is fully committed to prosecuting those responsible.
The Bust:
The Liberia National Police (LNP) and the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) conducted the daytime operation, arresting one Colombian and one Spanish national believed to be the masterminds. Both suspects remain in police custody and declined media comment.
Investigators continue gathering evidence as they assess the full scope of the seizure.
Neither the LNP nor the Justice Ministry has released the precise weight or street value of the confiscated drugs. However, the LNP confirms the haul surpasses the previous record—520 kilograms of cocaine valued at approximately US$100 million—intercepted in October 2022 at the Sonit Liberia Corporation compound in Monrovia.
That earlier operation, coordinated with U.S. and Brazilian authorities, uncovered cocaine hidden among frozen goods shipped from Brazil and led to charges against four men of Liberian, Portuguese, Lebanese, and Guinea-Bissauan nationalities.
Tuesday’s bust follows another major seizure in March 2026, when 237.6 kilograms of cocaine—valued at over US$19 million—was discovered at RIA inside cargo boxes falsely labeled as seasoning cubes. That case, which resulted in charges against five suspects, was later compromised after several principal figures fled the country during the investigation.
Warning of Local Collaborators:
Senator Amara Konneh (Gbarpolu County), Chairman of the Senate’s Public Accounts and Audit Committee, praised security forces but insisted foreign traffickers could not operate without local assistance.
“It is inconceivable for foreigners to import such a large consignment into Liberia without local support,” Konneh stated on his official Facebook page. “Liberians deserve to know the origins of these narcotics and how they entered Liberia.”
Konneh warned that downplaying the threat ignores clear signs that Liberia is becoming a haven for drug lords. He said the trade endangers the country’s youth, national security, and international reputation, and called for stronger, coordinated action to dismantle trafficking networks.
“This is everybody’s problem,” Konneh said, urging that combating drug trafficking become a national priority.
