Liberian authorities say they have made the largest cocaine seizure in the country’s history after raiding a suspected drug storage facility on the outskirts of the capital, Monrovia.The joint operation, carried out on Tuesday in the town of Duazon, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Monrovia, uncovered high-purity cocaine with an estimated street value of $370 million, according to the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA).Several suspects were arrested during the raid, dubbed Operation Duazon, including two foreign nationals. Investigators said passports recovered at the scene were from Spain, Colombia and Serbia.Authorities released photographs and video footage showing dozens of boxes loaded onto a vehicle. Laboratory tests later confirmed the contents were cocaine.International traffickingInvestigators say intelligence gathered over more than a year led to the operation and pointed to Liberia’s growing role as a transit point for international cocaine trafficking since at least 2018, with local criminal syndicates fingered as facilitators.
