A dramatic scene unfolded along the Jenneh #3 stretch of the Bomi County Highway when a suspected drug smuggler ~ described as an elderly woman ~ was apprehended transporting several boxes of what authorities believe to be illegal drugs.
According to a reliable source who requested anonymity, the arrest led to a tense standoff between officers of the highway police and agents of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) over jurisdiction and proper handling of the case.
Eyewitness accounts suggest that while FDA agents insisted the suspect and seized contraband be turned over immediately to the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) or the nearest police depot in accordance with legal procedures, the highway police allegedly refused. Instead, they reportedly took the suspect and the consignment of drugs directly toward Monrovia, without filing a report or allowing documentation of the arrest.
Photographic evidence of the incident ~ captured by our informant ~ shows the suspect, the scene, and several boxes believed to contain the illicit substances.
The alleged cover-up raises serious concerns about the integrity of Liberia’s ongoing fight against drug trafficking. Many observers are questioning whether internal corruption within the very institutions tasked with enforcement could be undermining the country’s anti-drug efforts.
“This raises critical questions about transparency and accountability within our security apparatus,” said Dennis Kromah, Executive Director of YARD-Liberia and an anti drug activist. “If agents can bypass protocol so openly, how can we expect to win the fight against drugs?”
Further fueling public concern is a recently leaked audio recording, in which a senior LDEA officer is reportedly heard instructing a junior officer to facilitate a separate cover-up involving his own daughter. The LDEA has suspended him with immediacy pending investigation.
As the nation grapples with a rising tide of drug-related incidents, the growing perception that enforcement agencies are complicit ~ or at least conflicted ~ threatens to erode public trust in the fight against narcotics.
