Five Charged in Liberia as Cocaine Disguised as Seasoning Cubes Seized at Airport

Authorities in Liberia have filed charges against five suspects in connection with one of the largest drug seizures in the nation's history. Police discovered more than 200kg of cocaine that had been falsely declared as Maggi seasoning cubes.

The shipment, estimated to be worth $19m (£14.2m), was found at the international airport in Monrovia on 8 June. However, the identities of the suspects were not disclosed until a press briefing held over the weekend.

A transnational trafficking operation

"This was a serious transnational cocaine trafficking operation using Liberia's aviation and logistics system as a channel for organised crime," said Inspector General Gregory Coleman late on Saturday. He noted that investigators had uncovered evidence linking the seizure to a similar shipment processed in May.

The case triggered a public outcry across Liberia and led President Joseph Boakai to order a joint investigation by the police and the national anti-drug agency. "Liberia will not be used as a safe haven, transit point, warehouse, financial centre or operational base by criminal networks engaged in narcotics trafficking," the president said at the time.

Delay in naming suspects sparks controversy

The delay in identifying those involved provoked tension in parliament, where Coleman was summoned to a special senate hearing. It also fuelled public speculation that the investigation was being manipulated to shield influential Liberian figures.

On Saturday, Coleman said his team had gathered evidence suggesting the complicity of the logistics company that handled the shipment. He then named the individuals now facing charges for the transportation, possession and illicit trafficking of controlled substances, as well as criminal conspiracy.

The key suspect, the operations manager of the firm, is being held in custody in Monrovia. Coleman said arrest warrants would be issued in cooperation with Interpol for the others who remain at large. One suspect, thought to have been attending an event in China at the time of the bust, has not returned to the country. Prosecutors also released a Dutch phone number belonging to a UK-based suspect, along with a home address bearing a Birmingham postcode.

West Africa as a trafficking hub

The seizure has reinforced concerns that West Africa, a region with porous land and sea borders, has become a major staging post for the movement of narcotics between South America and Europe.

In October 2022, authorities intercepted a shipping container at Monrovia seaport carrying 520kg of cocaine valued at $100m (£74.86m). One of the suspects named on Saturday was reportedly released from prison after being arrested in connection with another drug-related case in 2024.

In neighbouring Sierra Leone, one of Europe's most wanted drug dealers has taken refuge since at least 2022 in the capital, Freetown, and is in a serious relationship with the president's daughter, according to a Guardian investigation published in February 2025.

In May, Spanish police working alongside US and Dutch officials confiscated 45 tonnes of cocaine worth €812m (£694m) in what a Madrid court described as Europe's largest-ever cocaine bust. Authorities said the Comoros-flagged cargo vessel, raided near the Canary Islands, had departed Freetown with Libya listed as its official destination. Another drug shipment leaving Freetown was also seized en route to Spain in February.

As investigators continue to pursue the suspects still at large, the case highlights the growing role of West African transit routes in the global drug trade. Share this article to help spread awareness of how the region is being drawn into international trafficking networks.

Source: The Guardian – World