16-Year-Old Minor and Others Arrested as LDEA Confiscates Over $140K Valued of Narcotics in Cross-County Anti-Drug Operations

Rural Liberia: In a coordinated enforcement at strategic checkpoints and rural settlements in Nimba and River Gee Counties, agents of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) have executed a sequence of targeted drug control operations between May 15 and 16, 2025.

This well-executed clampdown on narcotic substances has resulted in the seizure of narcotics worth an estimated street value of LRD 142,215, leading to the arrest of five suspects, including a 16-year-old juvenile.

By: Abraham Sylvester Panto

The operations commenced with heightened surveillance and intelligence-led movements in Nimba County, where an LDEA unit stationed in Saclepea City intercepted a drug transaction in progress during a mobile patrol sweep.

The mobile patrol sweep led to the arrest of Junior Beyan, a 16-year-old minor, and 22-year-old Francis Wonyoun, both Liberian nationals caught exchanging illicit substances in a public area within the city limits.

Confiscated from the two suspects were 254 wraps of compressed marijuana, packaged in consistent retail units and concealed in a schoolbag, with the street value estimated at LRD 38,100. This situation raises further concerns about the penetration of youth networks into the narcotics trade within vulnerable rural districts.

The arrest of a minor in possession of a significant quantity of drugs prompted the involvement of juvenile justice officers, with the LDEA confirming that formal charges will be coordinated with the Ministry of Justice’s Child Protection Division, while the adult suspect will be prosecuted under full criminal liability provisions.

In continuation, the team tactical unit led by the County Chief of Operations, acting in tandem with judicial officers from the Sanniquellie City Magisterial Court, advanced into Gbedin Town and Gbedin Camp 3 in Electoral District #2 under the authority of a Search and Seizure Warrant.

Upon their arrival at Gbedin Camp 3, authorities arrested 35-year-old Liberian national Aaron Gokpeh after a thorough property search uncovered 69 wraps of marijuana concealed in small plastic bags, all packaged for commercial distribution.

The total market value of the 69 wraps of marijuana stands at LRD 6,900, according to the LDEA’s preliminary chemical evaluation and valuation matrix.

Simultaneously in Gbedin Town, the LDEA team apprehended 38-year-old Ophelia Saye Kerkula following the discovery of 69 wraps of processed marijuana, one kilogram of loose cannabis, and one bottle of marijuana-infused “Caine Juice”—a” homemade narcotic-laced beverage often consumed by rural youth—with a collective valuation placed at LRD 29,575 based on comparable market seizure analysis.

Both suspects, Gokpeh and Kerkula, are currently being held at the Nimba County LDEA holding facility in Sanniquellie, pending formal indictment and subsequent arraignment before the Magisterial Court, where charges of possession with intent to distribute and unlawful manufacturing are expected to be filed by state prosecutors.

Parallel to the Nimba raids, a separate operation was launched in River Gee County, where 22-year-old Matharline Doe, a resident of Maryland County, was intercepted at the Webbo Checkpoint while in transit, reportedly en route to Pleebo with a concealed bundle of controlled substances stashed in a plastic sack of food provisions.

LDEA officers assigned at the checkpoint uncovered a total of 470 wraps of marijuana, one half-plastic container filled with assorted marijuana particles, and seven strips of Tramadol — a pharmaceutical opioid commonly diverted into the illicit market — with an estimated combined street value of LRD 67,640, a figure corroborated by regional valuation estimates.

Following her arrest, suspect Doe was transported under escort to the Fishtown Detachment Headquarters, where she was immediately turned over to the Investigation Section and subjected to questioning.

Authorities have since confirmed that Matharline Doe will face charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of Liberia and has been scheduled for a pre-trial appearance before the Magisterial Court in River Gee, with prosecutors pressing for denial of bail on grounds of public threat and trafficking risk.