Liberian officials urge UK to act after £244 million cocaine seizures

The UK has been warned the country risks becoming a hub for illegal drugs after a string of cocaine busts more than 3,000 miles away.

More than £14m worth of cocaine was discovered en route to the UK in Liberia last month, sparking national outrage.

A police investigation then seized more than £230m worth of the Class A drug in the capital, Monrovia, this week in the largest bust in the country’s history.

Liberian politicians and activists told Metro the UK was not doing enough to stop drugs travelling through the African nation into Europe and Britain.

Senator Amara Konneh, a former finance minister of Liberia, said: ‘This is an SOS call to the UK government not to overlook Liberia.

‘By not helping Liberia, the UK is in danger of becoming a destination for cocaine and other narcotics.’

Liberian authorities found more than 200kg worth of cocaine at Roberts International Airport on June 8 last month.

Six boxes were falsely declared as Maggi seasoning cubes and were presented as a shipment from Liberia to the UK, the country’s national police said, via a Brussels Airways flight to Europe.

Five people were charged and prosecutors released the Dutch phone number of one UK-based suspect and his house address with a Birmingham postcode, the Guardian reported.

Officials said it was part of a ‘serious transnational cocaine trafficking operation’ and had similarities to an earlier shipment processed in May.

Valued at £14m, the find was one of the largest in the country’s history and triggered national anger over the country’s failure to stamp out illegal drug activity.

Then, as part of investigations into the bust, officers discovered a mammoth £230m worth of cocaine at a storage facility near Monrovia on Tuesday.

It is not yet known whether the cocaine was also going to be smuggled to the UK.

Senator Konneh told Metro Liberia was ‘beginning to see an intrusion from drug lords and their enablers’ could ‘disrupt the peaceful reconstruction path we are on.’

He added: ‘For this large quantity of cocaine to go through our country, repackaged for shipment, to Britain, was a serious intelligence and security failure.’

However the politician, who is co-ordinating demands in the Senate for a crackdown on illegal drugs, said the UK was not doing enough to help Liberia and could be counted as an ‘enabler’ of the problem.

Senator Konneh explained: ‘The UK has more sophisticated law enforcement to address drug trafficking than Liberia.

‘We do not have any canine dogs and we do not have sophisticated scanners at the airport to detect contrabands and narcotics.

‘The UK should redefine its relationship with Liberia to assist our security agencies with our capacity to address this issue.’

He warned the problem is not just Liberia’s, but could fuel more illegal drugs into the UK.

The independent senator added: ‘People will try touse Liberia as a safe haven and a pass-through to get narcotics in to the UK.

‘Britain is in danger of becoming a destination for cocaine and other narcotics. It would be good in their interest to avoid that and create a presence here in the UK.’

Protests in Liberia

The drugs bust at Roberts International Airport triggered large protests in the Monrovia last Friday, organised by Solidarity and Trust for a New Day’s (STAND).

The campaign group’s chairman, Mulbah K. Morlu, told Metro the ‘UK’s silence and inaction could embolden the drug trade’ in Liberia.

He added: ‘The UK’s slow response or apparent lack of resolve could unintentionally benefit these dangerous networks, which may begin to view Liberia as a convenient transit hub for narcotics operations.’

Mr Morlu warned that drug trafficking networks would exploit any weaknesses to continue harming ‘vulnerable neighbourhoods in the United Kingdom’.

‘Drug trafficking threatens the security, stability, and wellbeing of nations around the world, including the UK,’ he added.

The National Crime Agency, which did not comment on the drugs bust to Metro, does work across West Africa to tackle drug trafficking.

The region is regarded by international law enforcement as a key transit route for cocaine trafficked from South America to Europe.

According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, at least 30% of cocaine destined for Europe now passes through West Africa.

Other politicians are more optimistic about the UK’s role in tacking the spiralling drug issue in Liberia.

Senator Edwin Snowe told Metro that Liberia’s commissioner of police recently visited Britain.

He added: ‘We know the UK is very strong against drugs and the Uk has its own sophistication.

‘I have no doubt that the UK will do everything possible to work along Liberian authorities.’

Commenting on the June 8 drug bust, Brussels Airlines said in a statement: ‘Brussels Airlines is aware of an ongoing investigation in the Republic of Liberia. At this stage, neither Brussels Airlines nor any of its current or former employees are subjects of this investigation.

‘Brussels Airlines operates in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and upholds the highest ethical standards. We will fully cooperate with the authorities should our assistance be required.’

The National Crime Agency declined to comment on this story.