By: Favor G. Koboi Jr.
Suspended Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) Deputy Director General for Operations, Hassan Fadiga, has expressed concern over a leaked audio recording regarding the ongoing US$19.2 million drug bust investigation, describing its contents as troubling and raising serious questions about the professionalism of the probe.
In a statement issued on his Social Media Platform, Hassan Fadiga mentioned that given what is heard in the leaked recording, there appears to have been little effort to systematically establish the suspects’ connection to the alleged drug trafficking offense through structured, evidence-based questioning.
He emphasized that the interview lacked a clear investigative strategy designed to test the suspects’ accounts, identify inconsistencies, confront them with available facts, or develop admissions that could support a successful prosecution.
According to Fadiga, in high-profile drug trafficking investigation like the ongoing one, the public would reasonably expect experienced criminal investigators to employ recognized investigative interviewing techniques as the recording suggests a joint security panel questioning suspects in a conference room an environment that is generally inconsistent with best practices for conducting effective suspect interviews.
Hassan Fadiga however indicated that the questions asked in the audio reflect a lack of strategic planning, emphasizing that every major criminal investigation should have clearly defined interview objectives and investigators should seek to establish the facts.
