Reports indicate that Liberian authorities have seized $100 million worth of cocaine at a suburb in the capital, Monrovia.
With assistance from the US international narcotics agency, the seizure was carried out on Saturday in the village of Topoe.
According to the Liberian Justice Minister Musa Dean, two suspects, one from Guinea-Bissau and one from Lebanon were detained. The haul was pure cocaine, according to him.
Because of lax local law enforcement and a largely unregulated coastline, West Africa is favored by drug gangs. The narcotics are shipped or flown over the Atlantic before being sold on markets in the US and Europe.
Liberian Justice Minister Musa Dean told reporters the national Drug Enforcement Agency, with help from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, had made the seizure Saturday in Topoe village, a western suburb of the capital Monrovia.
The operation led “to the seizure of $100 million worth of pure cocaine”, he said.
Drug enforcement agency chief Marcus Zehyoue said: “a full-scale investigation” was underway along with a search for accomplices who escaped capture.
The US embassy in Liberia congratulated the Liberian authorities on the drug haul, saying in a statement that it was the result of swift joint action.
“The success of this operation is the direct result of excellent communication between law enforcement agencies around the world, including Brazil, the United States, and Liberia, among others,” it added.