Monrovia – Five people have been charged in one of the largest drug seizures in Liberia’s history, after more than $19 million of cocaine was discovered in a shipment partly disguised as stock cubes.
The 237.6 kilograms (524 pounds) of cocaine had been presented as ordinary commercial cargo for export at Roberts International Airport near Monrovia in June.
“The shipment was processed under the false description of ordinary goods, Maggi cubes and lappas (traditional clothing),” Liberia’s Inspector General of Police Gregory Coleman said in a statement Saturday.
Six boxes were prepared for shipment through the cargo system on June 5, he said, but due to “discrepancies in the declared weight, suspicious screening images and conflicting shipping documentation”, the boxes did not leave the airport.
Two days later, the boxes were intercepted and searched, revealing 198 plates of cocaine.
Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai called it “one of the largest narcotics interdictions in our nation’s history”.
He vowed in mid-June to “expose and destroy” drug trafficking networks and said Liberia’s national anti-drug agency and national police would coordinate an investigation.
Five men and the logistical company where one worked have been charged in the case, according to the Saturday statement.
Paul King was charged in his capacity as operations manager at the company Global Logistical Services (GLS), which was also charged.
King and the company are alleged to have conspired, accepted, facilitated, stored and transported the cocaine.
The other four men, all charged in absentia, are accused of various roles, such as organising the shipment, using bogus front companies and delivering the shipment.
Swiss NGO the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime has described west Africa as a transit point for cocaine produced in Latin America and shipped to consumer countries in Europe.
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Source: AFP
