Liberia: Prison Officer Wants Cocaine Suspects Held Outside Liberia, Hints Prison Break

What the report says

A senior official at Monrovia Central Prison in Liberia says a police-led operation tied to a transnational drug investigation was handled in a way that could have sparked unrest at the facility, which holds about 1,800 inmates. In a statement reported by The Liberian Investigator and distributed by AllAfrica, Jackson K. Kolako, the prison’s deputy superintendent for operations, said he was arrested on Aug. 1 while on duty and later held at police headquarters until Aug. 7. He claims the arrest was carried out publicly in front of prison staff and that his phones and passwords were taken during the detention.

Kolako urged President Joseph N. Boakai to consider moving suspects connected to Liberia’s multimillion-dollar cocaine case to a more secure place outside the country, suggesting Morocco as an option. He argued that keeping them at Monrovia Central Prison could endanger the institution and complicate the government’s anti-drug effort. He also said the initial visit by security agents to the prison was irregular and that some officials overrode standard entry procedures.

Liberia’s Ministry of Justice gave a different account, saying the arrest order came from the justice minister after information emerged during an NSA investigation. The ministry said Kolako was placed on stand-down, not formally found guilty, and that the inquiry remains ongoing. It also said investigators are still verifying allegations involving possible contact with an inmate and possible financial dealings, without presenting those claims as established facts.