Following an unexpected acquittal by the trial jury, the authorities in Liberia claim to have lost all track of four suspected cocaine dealers connected to a $100 million cocaine shipment.
Security agents in Liberia last year, with help from the US and Brazil, confiscated a container containing more than 500 kg of cocaine.
At the time, the arrest of four individuals from Liberia, Portugal, Lebanon, and Guinea-Bissau was seen as one of Liberia’s greatest victories against drug traffickers.
However, a Monrovia jury this week ruled them not guilty. The ruling, according to the justice minister, had exposed Liberia to international disgrace. Although they have since gone, he has threatened to re-arrest them. Authorities in Liberia have started looking for the suspects.
The case lit up social networks with questions about the value of a people’s jury in the West African nation.
The justice minister Musa Dean warned the verdict undermined the efforts of Liberia and an international coalition to clamp down on the illegal drugs trade.
“The courts must be ready to act in conformity with the laws and gravity of the breach of our laws,” said Musa Dean.
“The accused were caught red-handed attempting to take ownership of the container holding the illicit drug by attempting to bribe the businessman housing the container,” he said.