-ANC’S Cummings Speaks of US$19.2M Cocaine Probe
Alternative National Congress, ANC’s political leader, Alexander Benedict Cummings, has promised to lead the charge to seek the intervention of international partners in ongoing investigation into how US$19.2M worth of cocaine entered Liberia.
Mr. Cummings said the involvement of international partners would help investigate, preserve evidence, and audit the government’s handling of the June 8, 2026, US$19.2 million cocaine seizure.
Cummings has out rightly accused the Boakai administration of mishandling the high-profile case, adding that the government has lost the confidence of many Liberians in its alleged inability to conduct a credible, transparent, and independent investigation.
In a special statement delivered Monday, Cummings argued that promises of a swift, transparent, uncompromising, and independent investigation have ended up into what he calls secrecy, delays, and growing public suspicion.
“It has been over a month since the interception of 198 compressed plates of high-grade cocaine at Roberts International Airport,” Cummings and the Unity Party-led government had promised the Liberian people a swift, transparent, uncompromising, and independent investigation, but what we have seen is quite the opposite,” indicated, adding that the investigation has been secretive, slow, and seemingly compromised.”
The ANC leader linked the handling of the ongoing investigation to what he described as a broader pattern of governance failures under President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, citing controversies surrounding the Foya road construction project, allegations of illegal mining along the Liberia-Guinea border, and other corruption-related matters that he argued demonstrate a government more focused on public relations than accountability.
Cummings questioned how such a significant quantity of cocaine could have entered Liberia and passed through critical security checkpoints without the knowledge or involvement of influential individuals.
“How does such a huge volume of cocaine enter any country and transit through without the knowledge and authority of people who have significant power?” he wondered. “That is the million-dollar question the public is asking the government.”
He criticized investigators for charging what he characterized as lower-level suspects while failing to publicly identify or prosecute those allegedly responsible for organizing or facilitating the trafficking operation.
The ANC political leader also expressed alarm over testimony before the Liberian Senate indicating that Michael Brown, commonly known as “US Marshall,” a central figure previously imprisoned on drug trafficking charges, had escaped custody and remains at large.
According to Cummings, the government’s admission that it does not know the whereabouts of several suspects raises troubling concerns about possible collusion within Liberia’s security sector and political establishment.
“The government claims five suspects have been charged, yet admits it does not know the whereabouts of nearly all of them,” he said. “This raises disturbing questions about collusion between state security personnel and the big hands within or close to the corridors of power,” Cummings also noted.
Describing drug trafficking as a direct threat to Liberia’s national security, Cummings warned that the country’s institutions, economy, international reputation, and future generations are all at risk if authorities fail to dismantle sophisticated trafficking networks.
The ANC leader further argued that the government’s response contradicts President Boakai’s January 2024 declaration that drug trafficking constitutes a national emergency, contending that nearly two years later the situation has worsened rather than diminished.
He also accused the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency of practicing selective justice by aggressively prosecuting minor offenders, while allegedly moving cautiously in the high-profile cocaine investigation.
He argued that the government lacks the political will, institutional capacity, and technical competence to conduct a professional and impartial investigation capable of restoring public confidence.
The Government has so far not responded to the ANC political leader’s claims.
