President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. has dismissed Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) Officer-in-Charge Fitzgerald T. M. Biago over allegations he received a vehicle from an individual linked to a drug-trafficking network, and appointed Major General (Retired) Daniel Dee Ziankahn, Jr. as the agency’s new Director General pending Senate confirmation — the latest in a string of leadership purges at an agency battling both a worsening drug crisis and its own credibility problems.
By Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. has appointed Major General (Retired) Daniel Dee Ziankahn, Jr. as Director General of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), pending Senate confirmation, while indefinitely suspending former Officer-in-Charge Fitzgerald T. M. Biago from the Liberia National Police over ethical concerns raised in a Ministry of Justice probe — even as that same investigation cleared Biago of any involvement in illegal narcotics trafficking.
New Leadership
Ziankahn, who most recently served as Military Advisor to the President, previously led the Armed Forces of Liberia as Chief of Staff and later served as Minister of National Defense. He will report directly to the President in close consultation with the Minister of Justice.
Boakai also named Precious Rue as Deputy Director General for Operations and Prince Mulbah as Deputy Director General for Administration, both also pending Senate confirmation. All three are to assume their duties immediately in an acting capacity until the Senate returns later this year. Ernest Tarpeh, who had served as a deputy LDEA director general, returns to his prior post at the National Security Agency.
Chaotic 48 hours
The appointments follow the Ministry of Justice’s submission of its investigative report into Biago, ordered after he asked over the weekend to recuse himself from his duties amid allegations he had accepted a Toyota pickup from someone allegedly tied to a drug-trafficking organization. According to the Executive Mansion, the report did not establish that Biago was involved in narcotics trafficking, but it flagged unspecified ethical concerns warranting further scrutiny — prompting his suspension and a more detailed follow-up investigation.
The shakeup is the latest in a long run of upheaval atop Liberia’s anti-narcotics agency. Biago had been running the LDEA on an interim basis since August 2025, when Boakai dismissed then-Director General Anthony K. Souh and two deputies over what the government called administrative reasons, following weeks of public anger over the agency’s handling of enforcement. That reshuffle followed an earlier crisis in June 2024, when senior officials were suspended after a physical altercation at LDEA headquarters tied to a dispute over a synthetic street drug known locally as “kush” or “zombie” — a substance whose spread among Liberian youth Boakai has since called an existential threat to the country’s future.
Presidential Message
The changes were announced following what the Executive Mansion described as a marathon National Security Council meeting Monday evening. Boakai said his administration would continue to treat allegations of misconduct fairly and through due process, while holding officials accountable for questions of integrity.
He called on the LDEA’s new leadership to work with Joint Security, the Ministry of Justice, and international partners to dismantle trafficking networks, strengthen border security, and protect Liberia’s youth from illicit drugs.
“Our fight against drugs is a fight for the future of Liberia,” Boakai said. “We will continue to strengthen our institutions, hold public officials to the highest ethical standards, and pursue those who seek to poison our communities. There will be no safe haven for drug traffickers or those who aid and abet them.”
