21/07/2026
Following New Drug Seizure, STAND Demands U.S.-Led Independent Investigation; Says Massive Drug Trafficking Cannot Happen Without High-Level Government Protection.
STAND is deeply concerned about the free flow of illicit drugs into Liberia, sadly destroying the image of the country as west Africa’s new highway for drug trafficking.
While we welcome the efforts of the national security apparatus to seize these dangerous drugs, the crackdown must not end with foreign nationals. The Liberian collaborators behind this deadly trafficking network must be identified, publicly exposed, arrested, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
We urge the Government of Liberia to immediately launch a full, independent, and transparent investigation to uncover the origin of these massive narcotics, expose how they breached our borders, and identify, name, and prosecute every Liberian accomplice, financier, protector, and enabler behind this criminal enterprise. It defies logic and credibility to suggest that a narcotics shipment of this magnitude could have entered Liberia without the active involvement, protection, or complicity of powerful local and government collaborators.
It is deeply troubling that Liberia is rapidly emerging as a convenient highway for co***ne and other deadly narcotics. Unless the Government acts immediately with bold, decisive, and extraordinary measures, the nation risks sliding into a full-fledged narco-state—where powerful drug cartels pe*****te the economy, corrupt public institutions, capture political power, and use illicit wealth to recruit, arm, and finance militias capable of destabilizing the country. The reported seizure of at least one firearm alongside the trafficked narcotics is a stark warning that the drug trade is not merely a criminal enterprise but a growing security threat, with the potential to fuel armed violence, undermine the rule of law, weaken state authority, and endanger Liberia’s peace, democracy, and national security.
Furthermore, the Government must immediately disclose the estimated street value of the co***ne seized, as the Liberian people deserve to understand the true scale of this criminal enterprise and the enormous financial interests behind it.
This seizure further confirms that a deeply entrenched narcotics cartel is operating within Liberia and is turning our country into a major drug transit hub. Unless the local financiers, protectors, facilitators, and other high-level enablers are exposed, prosecuted, and convicted, Liberia cannot win the war against drugs.
Lastly, STAND proudly salutes the courage, patriotism, and unshakable resolve of the July 17 anti-drug protesters, student groups, civil society organizations, market women, street vendors, and every patriotic Liberian who stood up for our nation’s future. The massive co***ne seizure, coming on the heels of our nationwide anti-drug protest, sends a clear message: sustained public pressure forces action. It reinforces what STAND has consistently maintained—that Liberia’s drug crisis can no longer be ignored or concealed.
Our campaign is far from over. We will intensify peaceful civic resistance and public advocacy until every drug trafficker, every Liberian collaborator, every financier, and every powerful protector of this criminal enterprise is identified, exposed, arrested, prosecuted, and held fully accountable. The era of shielding the untouchables must end. Liberia belongs to its people—not to drug cartels or those who profit from poisoning our nation.
Signed,
Mulbah K. Morlu
CHAIRMAN