MONROVIA – Dr. Clarence R. Pearson Sr., an advocate and clergyman, has cautioned the Liberian government against rushing to destroy more than four metric tons of seized cocaine, arguing that while eliminating the drugs may be necessary for public safety, doing so without strict legal and forensic safeguards could jeopardize what is expected to become Liberia’s most significant narcotics prosecution.
In a detailed opinion titled “Burning the Proof: Why Liberia’s Rush to Destroy Seized Cocaine Threatens the Scales of Justice,” Pearson said the government faces two equally compelling responsibilities: protecting the public from the dangers posed by the massive drug stockpile while ensuring the evidence necessary to prosecute those responsible is preserved.
“Destroying a dangerous drug stockpile can be lawful and prudent,” Pearson wrote. “Destroying it without transparent evidentiary safeguards could turn a historic seizure into another historic prosecution failure.”
His comments come as Liberian authorities prepare to destroy approximately 4.2 metric tons of suspected cocaine seized in two separate operations. The seizures include 3,971 kilograms of cocaine recovered from a property in the VOA Community, Paynesville, and 237.6 kilograms intercepted earlier this year at Roberts International Airport. Together, the consignments are valued at more than US$336 million.
Pearson noted that the government has legitimate security concerns in storing such a large quantity of narcotics, citing risks of theft, substitution, corruption, accidental exposure, or attempts by criminal organizations to reclaim the drugs.
However, he argued that the cocaine also represents the central physical evidence in a criminal case with potentially international implications.
“The government must therefore destroy the danger without destroying the case,” he wrote.
Pearson referenced reports that Executive Protection Service Director Sam Gaye announced authorities would burn the cocaine and videotape the destruction, reportedly following an unverified video allegedly containing threats from a Colombian drug cartel.
While acknowledging the government’s desire to remove the drugs from circulation, he stressed that a public burning alone cannot satisfy legal standards.
“A bonfire can impress the public. Only procedure can persuade a court,” he asserted.
According to Pearson, before any destruction takes place, authorities should publicly demonstrate that comprehensive forensic examinations have been completed, representative samples preserved for future testing, and proper chain-of-custody records maintained. He also argued that defendants should have an opportunity to examine or challenge the government’s evidence before the bulk narcotics are destroyed.
He emphasized that international best practices permit destruction of bulk narcotics before trial but only under carefully regulated procedures that include laboratory testing, judicial oversight, photographic documentation, and preservation of representative samples.
“The real legal question is not simply: Was the cocaine destroyed?” Pearson wrote. “It is: What was preserved, who witnessed the process, what testing was completed, whether the accused received notice, and whether the remaining evidence allows an effective defense?”
Pearson warned that failing to follow such procedures could create evidentiary gaps that defense attorneys could exploit during trial.
He outlined several questions defense lawyers would likely raise if the drugs were destroyed prematurely, including whether every package was tested, how samples were selected, whether weighing procedures were accurate, whether purity levels were analyzed, and whether fingerprints, DNA, or other forensic evidence linking suspects to the shipment had been preserved.
He argued these questions are fundamental to ensuring fair trials rather than technicalities intended to shield traffickers.
“The right to challenge evidence protects innocent defendants, but it also strengthens legitimate convictions,” he stated.
Pearson also pointed to Liberia’s troubled history with major narcotics prosecutions, recalling the 2023 acquittal of defendants charged in connection with a 520-kilogram cocaine shipment valued at approximately US$100 million. He said the outcome demonstrated that major drug seizures do not automatically translate into successful prosecutions.
“The lesson is that headline-grabbing seizures and courtroom convictions are separate institutional achievements,” he wrote.
The scholar further observed that public confidence in recent narcotics investigations has already been weakened by controversies surrounding earlier drug cases, including the June airport cocaine seizure, which prompted allegations of delays, possible interference, and demands for greater transparency.
Against that backdrop, he warned that destroying the evidence without a transparent process would only deepen public skepticism.
“Some Liberians would inevitably ask whether all the drugs were actually burned,” he wrote. “Others would wonder whether packages had been removed, replaced or diverted.”
To safeguard both justice and public confidence, Pearson recommended that the Ministry of Justice publicly identify the legal authority governing the destruction process and ensure judicial supervision. He called for notification of defense lawyers, preservation of scientifically selected samples for future testing, complete inventories of every package, certified weighing procedures, comprehensive laboratory analyses, and continuous video documentation of the entire process.
He also recommended the participation of independent observers, including representatives of the courts, prosecutors, defense lawyers, the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, the Liberia National Police, environmental authorities, and international technical partners such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to verify compliance with accepted standards.
Pearson additionally urged authorities to use environmentally safe high-temperature incineration rather than open-air burning.
Concluding his analysis, he said Liberia’s greatest response to international drug traffickers would not be a public display of burning cocaine but a meticulous investigation that leads to convictions capable of surviving judicial scrutiny.
“The sequence is everything,” Pearson wrote. “Test first. Sample first. Document first. Notify first. Obtain legal authorization first. Then destroy.”
He concluded that Liberia’s recent drug seizures could become a defining moment in the country’s fight against international narcotics trafficking—but only if the government prioritizes due process alongside public safety.
“The Republic must not confuse destroying cocaine with dismantling a criminal organization,” Pearson wrote. “One requires fire. The other requires evidence, restraint and institutions capable of placing law above theater.”
