MONROVIA, Liberia – Liberian authorities have announced what they describe as the largest drug seizure in the country’s history after a major operation uncovered a massive quantity of cocaine at a suspected illegal storage facility in Duazon, just outside Monrovia.
The operation, carried out on Tuesday following a lengthy investigation, led to the seizure of high-grade cocaine with an estimated street value of more than US$370 million. Police also arrested several suspects, including two foreign nationals and multiple Liberians, although no formal charges have yet been announced.
Photos and videos released by the Liberia National Police showed dozens of sealed suitcases, black bags, and boxes loaded onto a truck. Authorities said forensic examinations later confirmed the substance inside was cocaine.
Liberia National Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman said the successful operation was the result of more than a year of surveillance targeting suspected drug-trafficking networks operating in Liberia.
“Between 2018 and 2023, there was a resurgence of major trafficking and transit activities in Liberia. Over the last one-and-a-half years, we’ve been surveilling them, and this is the result of that operation,” Coleman told the BBC.
He described the seizure as the largest drug bust recorded in Liberia in recent years.
Investigators are still working to determine where the shipment originated and its intended destination. Coleman disclosed that one of the arrested foreigners was carrying both Spanish and Colombian passports, while the other held a Serbian passport.
Vice President Jeremiah Koung praised the security agencies for the operation, promising that anyone found responsible would face the full force of the law.
“Whosoever is found culpable will feel the full weight of the law, regardless of who you are,” Koung said.
The latest seizure comes only weeks after authorities intercepted six cargo boxes at Roberts International Airport that had been falsely declared as containing food seasoning and textiles. Investigators later discovered nearly 200 compressed blocks of cocaine hidden inside the shipment.
That airport case sparked widespread public criticism after delays in identifying suspects fueled concerns that some individuals connected to the shipment had already fled the country. In response, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai ordered a joint investigation involving the Liberia National Police and the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA). Several suspects have since been charged, while international arrest warrants are being pursued for others still at large.
West Africa has increasingly become a major transit corridor for cocaine trafficked from South America to Europe, with criminal networks exploiting porous borders and weak enforcement in parts of the region.
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime estimates that at least 30 percent of cocaine destined for Europe now passes through West Africa, while cocaine consumption within the region has also continued to rise. The organization says cocaine seizures across West Africa have steadily increased since 2019, reaching approximately 30 tonnes in 2025.
The United Nations has also warned that increasingly sophisticated drug-trafficking networks pose a growing threat to the region’s security and stability.
Liberia has recorded several major drug seizures in recent years, including the interception of 520 kilograms of cocaine at the Freeport of Monrovia in 2022. Since taking office in 2024, President Boakai has repeatedly reshuffled the leadership of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency as his administration faces mounting pressure to combat drug trafficking and organized crime.
The Duazon seizure marks another significant development in Liberia’s ongoing fight against international drug trafficking, with authorities expected to continue investigations into the network behind the operation.
