Liberian authorities have destroyed this Thursday about 4.2 metric tonnes of cocaine valued at $336 million, days after announcing the country’s largest-ever drug seizure and accusing senior police officials of involvement in the trafficking operation.
Police Inspector General Gregory O.W. Coleman said investigations had identified officers who allegedly helped escort the cocaine after it entered Liberia. The head of the highway patrol and the major crimes unit chief have been charged, while a deputy police commander at Roberts International Airport has been named as a suspect.
Authorities said the cocaine was seized during a raid last week at a property in Duazon, about 28 kilometres from Monrovia. Two foreign nationals — a Serbian citizen and a dual Colombian-Spanish national — were arrested and are being questioned over the alleged transnational trafficking network.
The destruction exercise also included 237 kilograms of cocaine worth more than $19 million, seized in June 2026 at Roberts International Airport. Coleman said the action was aimed at sending a strong message that Liberia would not serve as a safe haven for drug traffickers.
West Africa has increasingly become a major transit route for cocaine shipments from South America to Europe, with criminal networks exploiting weak border controls and enforcement gaps across parts of the region.