By Bill W. Cooper
The office of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) stationed at the Robert International Airport (RIA) has announced that no drugs were found in the boxes seized at the airport, as is being reported by some media outlets.
On Thursday, September 7, 2023, it was reported that the Security Manager at the airport, Samuel Freeman, was placed under investigation for his alleged involvement in an attempt to transport several boxes suspected of containing contraband, directly from the airport tarmac, using an unauthorized gate.
The management, through its communication department, according to the report, confirmed the interception of the boxes by officers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) stationed at the airport.
The report added that the intercepted boxes were reportedly being transported in a minibus, with Freeman escorting them and claiming that the consignment belonged to President George Weah’s Chief of Protocol, Nora Finda Bundo.
But that has since been denied by Madam Bundo. She denied having any knowledge of the boxes when contacted by the airport management, even though the joint security had set Monday, September 11, 2023 to open the boxes in the presence of the media.
However, journalists on the scene said the media was excluded from the process after anticipating being present for the opening of the boxes, but were all asked out during the process.
The Assistant Commissioner of Customs at the LRA, Atty. Namue Koffi, told journalists that the ten boxes seized by the AFL officers contained a hundred packs of Moringa leaves, contrary to the alleged drugs reported on social media.
Atty. Koffi added that the hundred packs of Moringa will be sent to the laboratory, along with the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), for proper testing.
Speaking also, the Security Director of the RIA, Samuel S. Freeman, denied having any link to the boxes, clarifying that the reports of him being arrested by the AFL while attempting to smuggle the boxes out of the airport’s tarmac were false and misleading.
He added that the reports were intended to destroy his hard-earned character and reputation he has built over the years.
When quizzed about his working relationship with the Managing Director of the Airport, Martin Haynes, Freeman revealed they have a rocky working relationship over the period.
It can be recalled that last September, the joint security intercepted US$100 million worth of cocaine, concealed in a frozen food container, as the cartels reportedly infiltrated the Maersk shipping line and had the cocaine packaged with frozen goods.
Furthermore, the seizure of the drugs by the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) and the Liberia National Police was made possible through a tip-off by the American Embassy in Monrovia.
Four suspects, two of whom were arrested on the scene, were tried, but the court found them not guilty of illegal possession and importation of illicit drugs, a decision which former U.S Ambassador to Liberia, Michael McCarthy, expressed his frustration about, over the acquittal of the suspects involved in the cocaine trafficking case.
