Published: September 4, 2026
PLEEBO, Maryland County — Armed men broke into the Cavalla Rubber Plantation before dawn on Sept. 1, injured three security officers and made off with about US$200,935 in cash and a police service pistol, in an attack on money the plantation had drawn to pay its workers.
By Henry N. Kolenkey
The Liberia National Police said in a statement on its official Facebook page on Sept. 2 that the robbery happened at about 3:45 a.m. and that a 9mm firearm was taken, along with US$200,935, 12,375 Liberian dollars and 12,320 CFA francs. One Emergency Response Unit officer and two Plantation Police Department officers were injured and were being treated at the plantation clinic, the statement said.
“The circumstances surrounding the reported robbery remain under investigation,” the police said, adding that investigators are working to establish the full facts, determine the circumstances that led to the robbery and identify and apprehend those responsible. The police appealed to anyone with credible information to contact the authorities.
The cash was tied to payroll, according to information obtained by this paper, involving Cavalla Rubber Corporation and MOPP, which operate from a shared central office in the Pleebo-Sodoken area. Sources familiar with the situation said substantial amounts of cash had been withdrawn from a bank ahead of the payment of employees.
A preliminary breakdown provided to this paper puts the cash at the facility at more than US$439,000, along with Liberian and CFA francs, more than twice the amount the police say was taken. This paper could not establish whether the difference represents money the attackers left behind or a conflict between the two accounts.
The police statement and the account given to this paper also differ on the day. The police put the robbery on Tuesday morning, which was Sept. 1, while sources told this paper it happened at about 3:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
The injured Emergency Response Unit officer was identified to this paper as Sgt. Romeo Payne, who sustained multiple injuries. Sources said a 9mm weapon assigned to him was taken. The two Plantation Police Department officers were identified as Orailey Nance and Moses Dennis. The police statement did not name any of the three.
Emmanuel Wleh Merriam, the company’s communications manager, did not answer questions sent to him by text message about the amount taken, the condition of the injured officers or the company’s response to the breach.
“Brother, I’ve been attending a series of meetings since morning,” Merriam said. No further response had been received from him as of press time.
Personnel of the Liberia National Police and the Armed Forces of Liberia responded to the plantation after the attack.
Police had not publicly identified a suspect as of press time.
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