Monrovia – George Leroy Harris and Jonathan Adama Momolu both hold Dutch passports. Momolu, a co-owner of Private Bar in Paynesville, was picked up this week by investigators probing the June 8 US$19 million cocaine bust and is now being questioned. A suspect still at large, speaking to FrontPageAfrica anonymously out of fear for his life, described Harris, Momolu and Michael Browne as “triangular operators” allegedly serving as foot soldiers for Dutch fugitive Jos Leijdekkers, who is said to enjoy protection from President Maada Bio’s government in neighboring Sierra Leone.
By Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com
The LDEA OIC’s Right-Hand Man
FrontPageAfrica has gathered that Momolu, a full-time security officer at Roberts International Airport, abandoned his post for several months and has been working primarily as a driver and point man for LDEA Officer-in-Charge Fitzgerald T.M. Biago. “Momolu had been absent from the airport for months before the drug bust,” a senior RIA official told FrontPageAfrica on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source said Momolu, a full-time RIA employee since 2020, was seen at the airport Wednesday for the first time in months.
In September 2023, FrontPageAfrica reported that a consignment initially described as “tea leaves”, but later identified as methamphetamine, was being escorted by then-RIA Security Manager Samuel Freeman, Deputy Security Manager Walker Dixon, alias Invasion, and then-Senior Inspector Jonathan A. Momolu when officers of the Armed Forces of Liberia intercepted it.
At the time, investigators questioned how such a large drug consignment moved through an unauthorized gate without being opened immediately after seizure. They also raised concerns about why airport authorities and customs waited 12 days to inspect the suspicious shipment, especially after details of the incident had reached the media. The substance was later tested by the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency using United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime test kits.
At the time of the bust, authorities provided no follow-up on how the drugs slipped through an unauthorized gate undetected. Nor was there any report on action taken against Momolu, Freeman and Dixon, who were part of the team escorting the package. Since then, Freeman has been removed as Airport Security Manager, while Momolu and others were transferred from the Security Department to the Regulatory Department.
With Momolu’s name now emerging in the latest revelations, some airport staffers expressed shock that he appeared at work this week after months away while reportedly working alongside the LDEA officer-in-charge.
FPA has made several attempts to confirm whether the LDEA officer-in-charge was aware of the reports now surfacing against Momolu. One member of the President’s joint security task force said they were aware only that “a gift was given to the OIC, but we haven’t established if the CIO is aware. We are aware of Leroy’s [George Harris] and Jonathan’s connections. We have all and want to keep it sealed.”
The Private Bar
FrontPageAfrica has now learned that the trio of Momolu, Harris and Browne have strong connections to the Dutch fugitive, Leijdekkers. In fact, when news first broke regarding the US$19 million drug bust at the RIA, panic followed. Harris, who is one of the owners of a local entertainment establishment, Private Bar, had the bar shut down for a few days. But as the investigation lagged and reports of key persons of interest fleeing, the bar reopened.
Around the Paynesville area, murmurs about the bar’s closure spurred chatters that the government had closed private Bar because of the owner’s alleged involvement in the RIA drugs bust. Private Bar has about three partners, one of whom is a Nigerian and two Liberians. In fact, FrontPageAfrica has learned, Private Bar, located at Joe Bar and New Liberia Club located directly at Duport Road junction closed the same time when the news of the drugs broke out.
The Unauthorized SL Landing Link
The revelation of the Momolu and Harris’s connection to Holland is raising new concerns among investigators and shedding new light on an incident from September 20, 2024, when a private jet flying from Liberia made an unauthorized landing at Freetown International Airport in Sierra Leone.
That flight, which had a fake registration number, did not have a landing permit and did not take off from a recognized Liberian airfield at the time, Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority and local police impounded the aircraft, detaining the four people on board (one Spaniard and three Mexicans). Following the incident, investigations revealed that the captain was paid $20,000 to fly the aircraft to Mexico.
One investigator, speaking strictly on condition of anonymity Thursday explained that the incident follows the Leijdekkers playbook to perfection, except in this case, the flight was intercepted.
Suspicions were also raised when authorities in Sierra Leone reported that nothing suspicious was found on the plane with some pointing to Leijdekker’s control of the Sierra Leone playing field as a key reason why that may have been the case.
Over the last few months, FPA has learned that Leijdekker paid multiple visits to Liberia and although it is unclear how deep he has become entrenched in the Liberian government, multiple sources confirmed to FPA that by the time the ongoing investigation into the US$19 million is completed, a lot will come to the surface.
The Package
With so many connections to Michael Browne, believed to be the prime suspect in the case, what remains unanswered is “who took the package to EHS for shipment to the UK”?
According to investigators, the US$19 million shipment originated from the Express Handling Services. The company’s chief executive, Arthur Abdullah, was initially listed as a person of interest in the case but has not been elevated to the level of a suspect.
To date, only Paul King, Operations Manager for Global Logistics Services (GLS) Menzies, in custody and making appearances in court, relating to the seizure.
This week, King entered a plea of not guilty regarding allegations connecting him to a massive $19.2 million cocaine seizure.
In court Thursday, Moses L. Meah, a chief investigator at the LDEA, revealed that King attempted to export the cocaine out of Liberia
Under oath, Meah told the court that investigators concluded King coordinated the shipment from his residence in Sinkor through a network of associates and logistics personnel before airport security intercepted the cargo. “The case involving defendant Paul King and others, I am pleased and happy to testify to the facts that Paul King admitted that the 237.6kg of cocaine was at his house and later was seized at the airport,” Meah testified.
The witness said King contacted Arthur Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of Express Handling Services, requesting an air waybill for six cartons destined for England. Investigators alleged the shipment listed EM Van Group of Companies as the shipper and Usman Ali as the consignee.
The witness alleged that before the pickup, co-defendant Emmanuel Kpah delivered the cartons to King’s residence, where they were received by King’s housemate, Marie Garbiah, who allegedly collected US$2,150 before releasing the shipment.
Investigators further testified that after the cargo arrived at Roberts International Airport, routine screening raised suspicion. According to Meah, airport screener Ruth Gbarpaywhea observed unexplained dark images on the scanner and ordered a physical inspection.
“During the scanning of the six boxes, Ruth observed images on the screen that were dark and that she could not understand and interpret,” the witness told the court.
The inspection allegedly uncovered 237.6 kilograms of cocaine, which prosecutors said later tested positive using United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime testing kits.
The prosecution’s most troubling allegation came when Meah testified that King allegedly sought to recover the shipment after learning it had been intercepted.
“After the discovery of the cocaine, Paul King was informed about the seizure of the drugs. He was in communication to see how best to release the six boxes over to him.
He promised to provide money to the security to release the six boxes,” Meah testified.
As Paul undergoes trial, it is unclear what the Liberian government is doing to extradite other suspects still at large. More importantly, how will the new investigation involving Jonathan Momolu, Leroy Harris and their connection to Michael Browne play out in relations to the seized cocaine and how it entered Liberia. Investigators say, besides the official border entry points, traffickers have routinely used porous segments of the border to pass through drugs.
