Monrovia – Despite the passage the new drug law making the trading, importation and sale of certain class of drugs a non-bailable offence, the war against drugs in Liberia looks far from over with indications of coverup from high places for traders and importers.
By Selma Lomax, [email protected]
This comes at a time when many young Liberians are heavily involved in the consumption and abuse of drugs to the extent they are seen in public intoxicated with the harmful substances.
In May 2023, Liberian authorities admitted they lost track of four men who tried and exonerated after the seizure of $ 100 million dollars worth of cocaine, a judgment that shocked Justice Minister Musa Dean. The court caused stir by finding a not guilty Liberian, a Bissau-Guinea, a Portuguese and a Lebanese man arrested in connection with the seizure. In October 2022, of 520 kilos of cocaine with an estimated value of $ 100 million dollars concealed, according to the authorities in a container from Brazil.
The judgement by a popular jury was all the more surprising as the court ordered the return to the suspects of $ 200,00 seized during the operation.
The passage of the new drug law and proclaimed efforts to fight drug by the Government of Liberia looks to be a mere charade as the sources of the drug still entering the country and being consumed by the population remains a mystery.
Another major mystery and twist in the fight against drug broke out on Sunday when it was reported that huge consignment of boxes containing what looked drugs entered the country through the Roberts International Airport. Immediately after the report of the huge consignment containing boxes, the Roberts International Airport suspended one person and the Liberia Revenue Authority took control of the boxes to be turned over the Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA) for further examinations.
Twist and turns in boxes saga
Just as the Liberians were eagerly waiting to get the outcome of the LDEA examination of the boxes, the story has now changed with pronouncements that the boxes contained Moringa Zero tea. This leaves many unanswered questions which the Government of Liberia is yet to provide in what many believed to be a coverup for drug importation, especially in the wake of ongoing election campaign.
Opposition political parties are already using the issue of the dangerous Kush drug taking over the country as a campaign tool and perhaps many believe that it might be against this backdrop that government has moved quickly to cover up such a huge importation of drug into the country.
Doubts, Unanswered questions
The Ministry of Information in a September 12, 2023 press statement said that the Ministry of Justice, through the Joint Security of Liberia, confirmed that the consignment of boxes it intercepted containing herbal plants – packaged and in natural form – at the Roberts International Airport reveals a presence of methamphetamine.
As part of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency’s investigation, which included scientific examination, samples tested revealed the presence of the illicit drug, which is banned under the rules of United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes, UNODC.
The Minister of Justice Cllr. Frank Musah Dean Jr, according to the release, ordered the Joint Security of Liberia, as well as the LDEA, LNP and the NSA to expand their investigations on the importation of the illegal drugs with the aim of bringing to justice all those involved.
The statement from the Government of Liberia indicating that the boxes contained Moringa Zero tea leaves many unanswered questions as to why the government has failed to state the name of the importer, the history of importation of the tea, the place of sale of the tea in the country.
For boxes of a substance in such quantity it is a fact that there will be distributor and source of retail of tea in the country and government has also failed in its statement o indicate whether security forces have investigated the place of sale of such huge consignment of what is dubbed to be tea.
Further investigations would have established from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry the history of importation such tea in Liberia and if there is a licensed importer of that particular tea said to have been the one contained in the boxes. There is no consumer index report from the Ministry of Commerce to indicate that the tea is commodity that is widely consumed in Liberia. The price of the tea is not even known.
It is a known fact that no importer would import such quantity of tea without know retailers and large consumers over a long period of time. The country from where the tea was imported is another lingering question.
Condemnations greet suspension of RIA Security Director
The indefinite suspension of Samuel Freeman, the Director of Security at the Roberts International Airport (RIA), pending the outcome of an investigation into his alleged role in the smuggling of cargo from the tarmac through an unauthorized gate, has been condemned by pro-government supporters and the opposition.
Bomi County Senator and a campaigner of President George Weah’s re-election, Edwin Snowe, took to his Facebook page to call for the dismissal of Freeman when he posted Tuesday, saying: “suspension my foot! The man should have been dismissed and placed behind bars by now.”
Also, Monsterrado County senator Abraham Darius Dillon, a major of the Weah-led administration, said, ‘’the ‘tea’ at the Roberts International Airport and then into ‘’Meth’’..the herb used to produce the killer drug called ‘’Kush’’.
George Toto, a disapora-Liberian, also weighed on the drug saga when he took to his Facebook in when he took to Facebook, saying: “The drug problem in Liberia is a growing concern that cannot be ignored. It is essential that all stakeholders in Liberia come together to address the issue. This requires strong collaboration between the government, civil society, and law enforcement agencies to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and justice is served.”