LIBERIAN President Joseph Boakai has dismissed a dozen senior government officials and recommended a handful for investigation following massive drug busts in recent months that have generated a public outcry for more stringent action.
Boakai dismissed 12 officials, ranging from an airport operations administrator to law enforcement supervisors, according to a late-night statement released Thursday.
Earlier this month, authorities conducted the largest drug bust in the West African nation’s history, seizing nearly four tonnes of cocaine valued at $317 million in an operation on the road leading to Roberts International Airport, which is about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the capital Monrovia.
That followed on the heels of another massive seizure of approximately 238 kilograms (524 pounds) of cocaine worth some $19 million that had been presented as ordinary commercial cargo, including Maggi seasoning cubes, at the airport in June.
West Africa is a transit point for cocaine produced in Latin America and shipped to consumer countries in Europe, according to monitors.
Boakai’s statement said he had ordered “the immediate dismissal, suspension and investigation of several officials of government and law enforcement personnel following his review of the latest status report on ongoing investigations into major narcotics trafficking cases”.
Those dismissed included the airport’s deputy director for operations; the police commissioner for criminal investigation, intelligence and Interpol; and the deputy director for administration at the National Security Agency (NSA).
Boakai also dismissed “all government employees and law enforcement officers indicted” in connection with the two massive drug seizures, the statement said.
Those individuals were the airport’s director of security and the deputy commander of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency at the airport, it said.
He further dismissed four employees across the NSA and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, forwarding their cases to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution.
Following the initial airport drug seizure in June, Boakai launched a coordinated investigation to ensure that “every individual found responsible is fully accountable under the law”.
Since the busts, social media users, political commentators and media reports have placed an intense focus on the country’s drug situation, with calls for greater scrutiny of public officials and swift results in the investigation.
Several hundred protesters additionally took to the streets of Monrovia two weeks ago, demanding quick action and rapid charges, in a protest organised by the civic group STAND.