By: Frank P. Martin
MONROVIA: The Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA) disclosed that it has made significant arrests and confiscated a substantial quantity of a dangerous and illicit drugs, identified as Methamphetamine, commonly known as “KUSH.”
The drugs were arrested in two separate incidents at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) in Margibi County and BO Waterside border with the Republic of Sierra Leone, in Grand Cape Mount County.
The operations were conducted in collaboration with the Bureau of Customs and other joint security forces, LDEA Acting Boss, Christopher Peters, told journalists in a news conference on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, in Monrovia.
Peters disclosed that on July 24, 2024, the LDEA, in conjunction with the Bureau of Customs, intercepted two boxes containing concealed tealeaf substances suspected to be controlled narcotics at the RIA.
According to LDEA Acting Boss, the packages arrived in Liberia on July 19, 2024, via SN Brussels flight #: SN-245 at approximately 5:00 PM.
Subsequent testing conducted by the LDEA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), on July 25, 2024, confirmed that the substances were Methamphetamine (KUSH).
The seized narcotics weighed ten kilograms and were valued at US$200,000 or approximately L$38 Million.
Christopher Peter: “The boxes of concealed tealeaf substances arrived in the country by way of SN Brussels flight #: SN- 245 on July 19, 2024 at about 5:00 PM. Upon testing conducted by the LDEA and UNODC on July 25, 2024, the substance contained in the two boxes tested positive for Methamphetamine (KUSH).”
The controlled narcotics substance seized, weighed (10) kilograms with the street value of two hundred thousand United States dollars (US$200,000 or LD38, 000,000.
According to the LDEA, in connection with this seizure, Raymond Kpehe, a clearing agent with United Parcel Services, and Michael Brown, the consignee, both Liberians, were arrested and charged with Importation, Transportation, and Conspiracy.
Additionally, Mohammed Nyallay, a Sierra Leonean national, was apprehended and charged as an accomplice in the importation of the narcotic substances.
LDEA said, “These charges are in violation of Sections 14.83 and 14.85 of the 2023 amended drug law and Sections 10.4 and 10.2 of the Penal Law of Liberia.”
The suspects have been transferred to the Unification Town Magisterial Court in Margibi County for prosecution.
In another LDEA operation, on August 2, 2024, the LDEA’s Grand Cape Mount County Detachment, in collaboration with joint security forces, seized 31 kilograms of Methamphetamine (KUSH) from a white minibus with a Guinean plate number AD1037.
The vehicle, driven by suspect Abass Sannoh, a Liberian national, residing in Gardnerville, was intercepted at the BO Waterside border.
Sannoh was investigated and charged with Transportation and Possession of Controlled Drugs or Substances for violating Sections 14.85 and 14.89 of the amended drugs law, along with Sections 50.5 and 50.6 of the Penal Law of Liberia.
The street value of the 31 kilograms of Methamphetamine seized at BO Waterside is estimated at USD 620,000, equivalent to approximately LRD 117,800,000.
Sannoh has been transferred to the Tianii Magisterial Court in Grand Cape Mount County for prosecution.
The combined street value of the narcotics seized at both RIA and BO Waterside is approximately USD 820,000, equivalent to LRD 155,800,000.
The LDEA’s successful operations demonstrate a strong commitment to combating drug trafficking and protecting Liberia from the dangers of narcotics.
“The street value of the 31 kilogram of Cannabis Kush seized at BO Waterside is put at six hundred and twenty thousand United States dollars (620,000) and its equivalent of Liberian Dollar one hundred and seventeen million, eight hundred thousand (LRD117,800,000). The street values of both seizures from RIA and Bo Waterside amount to Eight Hundred and twenty thousands (US$820,000) or One hundred and fifty five Million, eight hundred thousand (LD$155,800,000),” the LDEA boss disclosed.