Liberian authorities on Thursday destroyed approximately 4.2 metric tons of cocaine valued at $336 million, days after recording the country’s largest-ever drug seizure and launching investigations that have implicated senior police officials in the trafficking operation.
The massive destruction exercise followed the discovery of a sophisticated transnational drug trafficking network allegedly involving high-ranking law enforcement officers.
Police Inspector General Gregory O.W. Coleman disclosed that investigations had identified several officers suspected of facilitating the movement of the cocaine after it entered Liberia.
According to Coleman, the Chief of the Highway Patrol and the Head of the Major Crimes Unit have been formally charged, while a Deputy Police Commander at Roberts International Airport is also under investigation for his alleged involvement.
Last week, Liberian authorities announced the seizure of nearly four metric tons of cocaine, weighing about 8,818 pounds, with an estimated street value of $317 million, describing it as the largest drug bust in the country’s history.
The Ministry of Justice said the cocaine was recovered during a raid on a property in Duazon, about 28 kilometres from Monrovia, the Liberian capital.
Two foreign nationals—a Serbian citizen and a dual Colombian-Spanish national—were arrested during the operation and remain under investigation over their alleged roles in the international trafficking network.
Authorities also destroyed an additional 237 kilograms of cocaine, valued at more than $19 million, which had been seized in June at Roberts International Airport.
Coleman said the destruction of the drugs was intended to demonstrate Liberia’s determination to dismantle organised drug trafficking networks.
“This sends a clear message that Liberia is no longer a place of comfort for drug traffickers,” he said.
West Africa has increasingly become a major transit hub for cocaine shipments moving from South America to Europe, with criminal organisations exploiting weak border controls and limited law enforcement capacity across parts of the region.
Security experts have warned that the growing flow of narcotics through West Africa has also contributed to rising local drug consumption, particularly crack cocaine, posing significant public health and security challenges across the region.
