Liberia: Liberia's Top Cop Drops Bombshell, Then Turns On the Press

What the report says

Liberia’s police inspector general, Gregory Coleman, made a striking public claim at a government press briefing in Monrovia on Thursday, saying the country’s high-profile cocaine scandal was approved by “state actors” at a very senior level of government. His remarks, reported by FrontPageAfrica and carried by AllAfrica, did not name any officials, and he offered no public evidence or timeline to support the allegation.

Coleman also accused unnamed journalists and media outlets of taking money from the drug network to undermine the investigation. He said he had verified “infused monies” in the media, but did not identify any publication or presenter of evidence. The comments came as Liberia continues to grapple with a major drug case that has already led to a fired police official, two accused National Security Agency operatives, and public scrutiny involving the president’s son, according to the report.

Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah responded at the same briefing by placing the blame for Liberia’s drug problem on earlier administrations, arguing that the current government is trying to dismantle trafficking networks. The article says those competing messages leave unresolved who, if anyone, inside the state is responsible. It also notes that former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf warned a day earlier that investor confidence depends on a government that is seen as credible and disciplined.

The report places Thursday’s statements in the context of a broader anti-drug drive that began after a June seizure of 237.6 kilograms of cocaine at Roberts International Airport, a case that has become a major political and security issue in Liberia.