
MONROVIA – In a stunning turn of events, the jurors at Criminal Court ‘C’ reached a unanimous not-guilty verdict on Thursday, exonerating all four defendants accused of involvement in an alleged scheme to import a staggering 520kg of cocaine into Liberia.
By Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
The seized drugs were estimated to be worth over US$100 million, making it one of the largest drug-related cases in the country’s history. The unexpected verdict has sparked widespread debate and raised questions about the efficacy of the prosecution’s case.
A Liberian named Oliver Zayzay and three foreigners were arrested for allegedly seeking to purchase the cocaine, which the government claimed was smuggled among pig feet from Brazil.
The court has also ruled that the US$200,000 that was seized from the men by the Liberian government be returned to them.
Those acquitted include Makki Ahmed Issam, Adulai Djalo, Oliver Zayzay, and Malam Conte — who were tried on charges of money laundering, unlicensed possession of controlled drugs, unlicensed importation of controlled drugs, and criminal conspiracy.
The accused had allegedly offered to pay the owners of the container, AJA Group Holdings, the sum of US$200,000 for the entire container which, at the time, cost less than US$30,000, according to the prosecution’s chief witness.
According to TRH Trading, the accused doubled their offer to US$400,000 within less than eight hours, and finally to US$1 million. This situation raised a red flag for TRH Trading, who contacted the United States Ambassador, who then passed the information to Liberian security officials.
In closing arguments on Thursday, the defense lawyers claimed the Government of Liberia falsely linked the defendants to the crime while letting the actually perpetrators to go scot-free and rather prosecuted “innocent people”.
“Free these people based on evidence; the was no evidence to link the defendants. The entire case rested on the statement from Malam Conte,” the defense argued.
Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean confirmed toFrontPageAfrica that his office has ordered the rearrest of the suspects and will push the matter to the Supreme Court.
The jury verdict comes as a big shock to many who are familiar with the bust as multiple sources confirmed to FrontPageAfrica that a sum of US$500,000 was splashed around judicial circles to influence the jury.
As this story went to press, a diplomatic source speaking to FrontPageAfrica on condition of anonymity noted that serious attempts will be made by US authorities to arrest the accused as the US has lost trust in the judicial system in Liberia.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean confirmed to FrontPageAfrica that his office has ordered the rearrest of the suspects and will push the matter to the Supreme Court.
In its 2022 Human Rights Report on Liberia, the U.S. State Department noted that judges and magistrates were subject to influence and engaged in corruption.
According to the report, Judges reportedly solicited bribes to try cases, grant bail to detainees, award damages in civil cases, or acquit defendants in criminal cases.
The report further stated that defense attorneys and prosecutors reportedly directed defendants to pay bribes to secure favorable decisions from judges, prosecutors, and jurors or to have court staff place cases on the docket for trial. Some judicial officials and prosecutors appeared subject to pressure, and the outcome of some trials appeared to be predetermined, especially when the accused persons were politically connected or socially prominent.