– Dozens tied and detained
By Jerromie S. Walters
CALDWELL, LIBERIA – On Monday, August 25, 2025, a joint force comprising residents of Gbandi Town and Caba Town in Caldwell, officers from the Liberia National Police (LNP), and the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) conducted a mass raid on a notorious drug den. The targeted area, a train track of land serving as the boundary between the two towns, had long been a hub for illicit activity, creating a climate of fear for local inhabitants.
The operation resulted in the apprehension of numerous individuals alleged to be both drug users and traders. The aftermath of the raid, however, left concerns, centering on the methods of apprehension. Several detainees had their hands tied roughly behind their backs with ropes. For many Liberians, the action proved to be deeply provocative and disturbing, bringing out painful memories of the nation’s brutal civil wars.
The location of the raid was no ordinary street corner. For over a year, residents informed this paper that the track had been transformed into a fortified ghetto, a no-go zone for ordinary residents, particularly after nightfall. Initially, community dwellers say they were stationed at Orange, a site famously known as Tinted. Residents and the LDEA encased their base and this led to their transfer to the train track.
According to residents, the area evolved into a busy illicit nighttime economy. “It will interest you to know that at night you will see people selling foodstuffs and other things on that track,” Jancubah A. Konneh, a community dweller explained. “You don’t have access to that track as long as you are not part of them.” Drug vendors openly paraded their goods, creating a market that was both brazen and intimidating.
The pervasive sense of insecurity fueled the community’s drastic action. Konneh described an environment of palpable threat, stating, “That route, at 6:00 PM you yourself won’t want to pass there because you will see a group of men and once you are not part of them you won’t pass there.” This prolonged exposure to crime and intimidation created a powder keg of frustration, which finally exploded on Monday.
Drug use among Liberian youth has reached alarming levels, with recent studies revealing that 20% of young people—approximately two in every ten—are now using narcotics. The deepening crisis intensified throughout 2024–2025, when the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) confiscated 9,651.23 kilograms of illegal substances valued at over $4.9 million (LRD 949 million) during nationwide operations.
Justifying Their Action:
In defense of the methods used in Caldwell, residents like Konneh argued that the ties were a necessary response to resistance. “The community people were identifying them. Some are users and some dealers. If you see them tied, they were holding them peacefully but they started resisting. At that time the police had not come on the scene so that’s why you saw some of them were tied,” he stated.
Conversely, the visual evidence of bound men and women triggered immediate outrage from human rights actors. Naomi Tuly Solunke, Executive Director of the Community Healthcare Initiative (CHI), declared the action “so wrong,” a belief echoed by others. The central question raised by many, including Titus Sunny Nyantee, was simply, “Why tie them?”
For a nation still healing from over a decade of conflict, the imagery was not merely one of arrest, but of brutalization. The parallels to wartime atrocities were drawn explicitly by numerous citizens l. Social media user Alladin Mohammed expressed a common trauma, writing, “This is degrading. Don’t the police have handcuffs or zip ties? This is exactly what the REBELS did during the war. This is traumatizing.” Judy Sorbo Faith added, “This remind me about 1990 war.”
Other concerned citizens were quick to point out the presumption of innocence. Tugbeh Chieh Tugbeh argued, “This is wrong. When people are accused of committing a crime they should not be treated like convicts. What if it is established that all these people are not guilty?” Paul Menepalay condemned the act as “inhumane treatment,” insisting “that is not what the law says.”
Yet, this perspective is not universal. A significant portion of the populace, exhausted by the corrosive effects of drug proliferation, supports any measure that yields results. Christopher W. Dweh represented this view, stating, “Whether war or not, drugs must be minimised in Liberia, this is the best approach from the communities.” This stance highlights the desperate dilemma faced by communities abandoned to the violence of the drug trade.
Following their apprehension, the detained individuals were transported to the Zone 7 Police Station while still bound, where they are currently being held. The LNP and LDEA have yet to comment the specific allegations of improper treatment or clarifying the chain of command and protocols followed during the joint operation.
Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. Last week, the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) warned the public against organizing unsanctioned citizen-led raids on suspected drug dealers and users, cautioning that such actions risk escalating violence, violating human rights, and undermining legal due process.
The advisory, released on Tuesday, came amid citizen arrests and raid as well as growing public frustration over the proliferation of illicit drugs and the communities, known as “ghettos,” that house users and dealers, often referred to as “Zogos.”
In its statement, the LDEA acknowledged and appreciated the rising civilian support for its mission but strongly emphasized that all operations must be led or coordinated by its trained officers.
Last week, more than twenty individuals struggling with drug addiction spent Thursday and the ensuing night detained at the Liberia National Police (LNP) headquarters following their arrest earlier that day. The group had been marching to appeal for public support and rehabilitation services when law enforcement intervened, citing public disturbance and obstruction of traffic.
The march began Thursday morning in the King Gray and SD Cooper Road communities, where addicted youth took to the streets to draw attention to their plight and call for access to rehabilitation. Their demonstration, however, was met with a heavy-handed response from officers of the Liberia National Police and the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), resulting in multiple arrests.
