Liberia: Before His Dismissal, Former Ria Deputy Sought Help for Mysterious Vessel He Claimed Was in 'Distress'

What the report says

FrontPageAfrica, republished by AllAfrica, reports that Liberia’s former Roberts International Airport deputy director for operations, Mark Egon Kuiah, wrote to the Liberia Maritime Authority on July 13 seeking special clearance for a cargo vessel he said was disabled at sea. In the letter, he identified himself as a registered agent for Madris Group of Companies Incorporated and asked officials to let the ship, IB Atlantic IV, enter or anchor near the Freeport of Monrovia so repairs and support could be arranged. The article says LiMA rejected the request because the vessel was then still on the Sierra Leone side of the maritime boundary.

The report links that letter to a broader anti-drug investigation in Liberia. Kuiah was later dismissed on July 30 as part of a wider government purge, and his name had already appeared in a large cocaine case tied to alleged smuggling through Roberts International Airport. FrontPageAfrica says investigators are also examining reports that a smaller boat may have approached the IB Atlantic IV and tried to pass something aboard, though officials have not publicly detailed what was involved or whether the attempt succeeded.

According to the article, Liberian authorities later ordered the ship brought ashore and searched after it drifted into Liberian waters. The vessel, described as an older general cargo ship sailing under Comoros’ flag, has become a focus of several agencies, including the Liberia Maritime Authority, the National Security Agency and the Coast Guard. The story matters because it raises questions about possible coordination around the vessel and about Kuiah’s role, though the report does not accuse him of a separate crime tied specifically to the maritime request.