https://en.sputniknews.africa/20230523/suspects-in-liberia-flee-after-100mln-drug-trial-police-launch-manhunt-1059421050.html
Suspects in Liberia Flee After $100Mln Drug Trial, Police Launch Manhunt
Suspects in Liberia Flee After $100Mln Drug Trial, Police Launch Manhunt
Sputnik Africa
The operation to arrest four drug traffickers was conducted by Liberian security officials in October 2022, with the assistance of Brazil and the United States, and resulted in the interception of a full container of cocaine.
2023-05-23T14:11+0200
2023-05-23T14:11+0200
2023-05-23T14:11+0200
sub-saharan africa
liberia
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drugs
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Liberian authorities said that they have lost all trace of four suspected drug traffickers involved in a $100Mln cocaine deal after a jury unexpectedly acquitted them.Last year, four men - a Liberian, a Portuguese, a Lebanese and a Guinea-Bissau national - were arrested while trying to get hold of 520 kilograms of cocaine smuggled in from Brazil, according to Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean Jr.However, on 18 May, a court in the Liberian capital of Monrovia found them not guilty and ordered the return of $200,000 in cash taken from them.According to Musah Dean, after the verdict was announced, all four managed to escape.The Minister of Justice condemned the decision, stressing that the verdict undermines the efforts of Liberia and the international coalition to curb the illicit drug trade.The minister added that this case only reinforces the widely held view that "the courts are inherently compromised".Liberia is a ratifier of the three major international drug control conventions, which aim to control illicit drugs by reducing their supply, in particular through criminal sanctions.However, according to the Organized Crime Index, Liberia is a dynamic conduit for cocaine originating in Latin America and an important hub for heroin from Latin American and Asian producers destined for the European markets.
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liberia drug traffickers, liberia crime
Suspects in Liberia Flee After $100Mln Drug Trial, Police Launch Manhunt
The operation to arrest four drug traffickers was conducted by Liberian security officials in October 2022, with the assistance of Brazil and the United States, and resulted in the seizure of a full container of cocaine.
Liberian authorities said that they have lost all trace of four suspected drug traffickers involved in a $100Mln cocaine deal after a jury unexpectedly acquitted them.
Last year, four men - a Liberian, a Portuguese, a Lebanese and a Guinea-Bissau national - were arrested while trying
to get hold of 520 kilograms of cocaine smuggled in from Brazil, according to Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean Jr.
However, on 18 May, a court in the Liberian capital of Monrovia found them not guilty and ordered the return of $200,000 in cash taken from them.
According to Musah Dean, after the verdict was announced, all four managed to escape.
"They can't be found. We don't know where they are. They have fled," Liberia's Information Minister Ledgerhood Rennie told the media.
The Minister of Justice condemned the decision, stressing that the
verdict undermines the efforts of Liberia and the international coalition to curb the illicit drug trade.
"The accused were caught red-handed attempting to take ownership of the container holding the illicit drug by attempting to bribe the businessman housing the container," Musah Dean said. "Yet the court - through the 12-man jury - said such brazen evidence didn't warrant a guilty verdict. What more can the joint security and the Justice Ministry do to convince the court that the law was broken?"
The minister added that this case only reinforces the widely held view that "the courts are inherently compromised".
Liberia is a ratifier of the three major international drug control conventions, which aim to control illicit drugs by reducing their supply, in particular through criminal sanctions.
However, according to the
Organized Crime Index, Liberia is a dynamic conduit for cocaine originating in Latin America and an important hub for heroin from Latin American and Asian producers destined for the European markets.
