Liberian security forces have seized cocaine valued at more than $370 million during a raid near the capital, Monrovia, in what authorities described as the largest drug bust in the country’s history.
Police raided a suspected storage facility in Duazon, around 20 kilometres east of Monrovia, on Tuesday following a lengthy investigation into international drug-trafficking networks operating through Liberia.
Images and videos released by the Liberia National Police showed dozens of sealed suitcases, boxes and packages loaded inside a lorry and guarded by armed officers.
Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman said forensic tests had confirmed that the seized substance was high-grade cocaine.
Several suspects were arrested during the operation, including Liberian nationals and two foreigners. One of the foreign suspects was reportedly carrying both Spanish and Colombian passports, while the other held a Serbian passport.
Authorities have not yet announced formal charges, and investigators are still working to determine where the drugs originated and their intended destination.
Coleman said police had been monitoring suspected trafficking networks for around 18 months amid signs that Liberia had re-emerged as a major transit point for narcotics between 2018 and 2023.
“The drugs were tested and confirmed to be cocaine,” Coleman said, describing the operation as Liberia’s largest seizure in recent years.
Vice-President Jeremiah Koung praised the security services and warned that anyone found responsible would face prosecution regardless of their status or connections.
“Whoever is found culpable will feel the full weight of the law,” Koung said.
The seizure comes weeks after security officers intercepted six cargo boxes at Roberts International Airport containing nearly 200 compressed blocks of cocaine.
Investigators said the shipment had been falsely declared as food seasoning and textiles and was believed to have been prepared for export.
That case triggered political controversy after critics accused authorities of responding too slowly, potentially allowing some suspects to leave Liberia before arrests were made.
President Joseph Boakai later ordered a joint investigation involving the police and the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency. Several suspects have since been charged, while international arrest warrants are being sought for others who remain at large.
West Africa has become a major transit corridor for cocaine trafficked from South America to European markets, with criminal networks exploiting porous borders, corruption and limited enforcement capacity.
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime estimates that at least 30% of cocaine destined for Europe now passes through West Africa. Regional seizures have risen sharply since 2019 and reached an estimated 30 tonnes in 2025.
Liberia has recorded several major cocaine seizures in recent years, including a 520-kilogram shipment intercepted at Monrovia’s seaport in 2022.
Boakai, who took office in 2024, has repeatedly reshuffled the leadership of the country’s drug enforcement agency as his administration faces growing pressure to confront organised crime and the expanding regional narcotics trade.