Lead

MONROVIA — Liberia's largest cocaine consignment, nearly four tons, was moved from a coastal landing site to a stash house with a police escort, according to Inspector General of Police Gregory Coleman. Two serving police commanders have been charged and sent to court, marking the first time the state has accused officers of physically transporting narcotics rather than interfering with an investigation after the fact.

Coverage Comparison

The story has been reported by AllAfrica, which describes the operation in detail. One account from a press briefing at the Ministry of Information quotes Coleman naming Wadell W. Kwarbo, chief of the Highway Patrol Section, and Anthony T. Blaye, chief of the Financial Crime Division, as the officers who drove the escort. A second account names Wadell Quaboe, chief of highway patrol, and Anthony Blaye, chief of major crimes, and adds that a deputy commander at Roberts International Airport for the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency has also been identified as a key actor.

Both reports note that the investigation has reached back to 2021 and is examining people who held presidential appointments between 2019 and 2023. They also mention that foreign assistance has been secured at the president's request, with the DEA working alongside Liberian investigators.

Key Claims

  • Nearly four tons of cocaine were seized in Liberia, the largest quantity ever.
  • Two police commanders were charged and sent to court for their roles.
  • The investigation has reached 2021 and is examining former presidential appointees from 2019-2023.
  • Coleman stated the operation was sanctioned at a very senior level, specifically authorized at the top of a previous government.
  • The DEA is cooperating with Liberian investigators.

Perspectives

The government, through Inspector General Coleman, presents the arrests as a decisive action against state actors within the police force. He said, "We have identified key state actors who played a role in transporting, escorting the movement of these narcotic substance from the landing site to the holding ground using police vehicles as escort, one in the front, one in the back." He also asserted that traffickers could not have operated without official assistance: "One key thing that you all should know is that these traffickers would never be brave to enter our country with this particular extent of narcotic substances."

However, discrepancies exist between the accounts from the Executive Mansion and the Inspector General's description. The Executive Mansion's version has the officers moving the consignment from Vincent Town on the Bomi Highway to the vicinity of Mega Mart in Thinker Village, Paynesville, which does not align with Coleman's description of an escort from a landing site to a holding ground. This inconsistency has not been publicly reconciled.