'Deploy a Forensic Team' - SUP Calls on US Gov't to Assist Liberia in US$19.2M Cocaine Investigation

Monrovia, Liberia: As the Liberian government faces immense pressure to ensure accountability in the US$19. 2 million drug bust, a student-based advocacy group is calling on Liberia's closest ally, the United States, to dispatch a forensic team in the country to aid in gathering pieces of evidence in the multi-million dollar cocaine case.

The Student Unification Party (SUP) moved to petition the US Embassy, on Tuesday, July 14, in Monrovia, to consider providing technical assistance to the Liberian joint security team investigating the matter.

SUP believes the Liberian joint security team lacks the capacity to handle the ongoing investigation and ensure those connected to the drug trafficking account for their actions.

The student-based advocacy group said delays to fast-track prosecution with over one month since the drug bust, indicates a weakness in the US$19.2 cocaine Investigation.

In a petition addressed to the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Joseph Zadrozny, SUP's Chairman Odecius Mulbah urged the U.S. government to be vigilant about its investments in Liberia, and provide support in fighting illicit drugs in the country.

Mulbah noted that support in deploying a forensic team at this time would help conduct independent findings on call logs, trace the financial international footprint of the trafficking and identify the masterminders behind the drug bust.

"We request that the United States Department of Justice, through the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), deploy a specialized and independent task force to Liberia".

"This task force should be authorized to conduct a parallel forensic audit of the $19.2 million Roberts International Airport cocaine seizure".

"This intervention is necessary to bypass local institutional bureaucracy, secure important digital evidence and call logs, map out the international financial footprints of the trafficking syndicate and identify the true masterminds, financiers and high-level political cronies facilitating this trade", SUP appeals.

Meanwhile, the Liberian joint security team including the Liberia National Police, the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, the Liberia Immigration Service and the Ministry of Justice has charged six individuals with multiple criminal offenses in connection to the case.

But, concerns remain largely among citizens about the apprehension of only one person while others are said to be charged in absentia.

Further commenting on the drug issues in Liberia, SUP Chairman Odecius Mulbah said the act poses a serious threat to the national security and the youthful population of the state.

He cautioned the Liberian government to take concrete steps in the fight against illicit drugs. According to him, failure to do so would stall investment opportunities and damage the country's international reputation.