Liberia seizes €277 million worth of cocaine linked to 'organised and well-funded' trafficking network

According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, West Africa is a key transit hub for cocaine bound for Europe. Liberian authorities have seized nearly four tonnes of cocaine worth an estimated $317 million (€277 million) in what authorities call one of the country's largest drug busts. The operation took place on the road leading to Roberts International Airport, about 30 kilometres from the capital, Monrovia, and led to the arrest of two foreign nationals. The seizure "revealed an organised, sophisticated, complex and well-funded narcotics trafficking network," said the attorney general and justice minister. Investigators recovered "approximately 3,971 kilograms of processed plates of suspected cocaine" with an estimated street value of $317.7 million (€279.1 million), they added. The Liberian National Police released photos showing a large open-bed truck carrying what appeared to be bags of suspected drugs and other evidence following Tuesday's raid. The seizure follows another major drug bust at the same airport in June, when authorities intercepted 237.6 kilograms of cocaine concealed in what appeared to be ordinary commercial cargo, leading to charges against five men and a logistics company. Following the seizure, Liberian President Joseph Boakai vowed to "expose and destroy" the networks behind Liberia's drug trade, announcing a coordinated investigation to ensure that "every individual found responsible is fully accountable under the law."