By Kruah Thompson
MONROVIA, August 5, 2026 – The Government of Liberia says additional officials from state institutions and security agencies are expected to be questioned as investigators widen the probe into the country’s two major cocaine seizures valued at more than US$336 million.
Information Minister Jerolinmek Matthew Piah made the disclosure Tuesday during the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing, saying the Joint National Security Investigation Team is pursuing what authorities believe to be a deeply rooted drug trafficking network operating in Liberia.
Piah said individuals linked to the investigation will be invited for questioning and prosecuted where sufficient evidence establishes criminal responsibility.
“Based on the ongoing investigation, additional individuals from security and government institutions will be invited for questioning, and where evidence is established, they will face prosecution,” he said.
According to the minister, the investigation extends beyond the cocaine seized in recent operations and seeks to dismantle what the government believes is an entrenched drug trafficking network that has operated in Liberia since 2018.
“What that shows is that the cartel is rooted, so these discoveries and seizures are not being treated in isolation. We want to get to the root of the seized drugs, bring the perpetrators to justice, and ensure that the roots the cartel has taken here are uprooted,” Piah said.
He added that investigators were preparing to file additional charges as the probe progresses.
“So we are looking forward to additional people being charged,” he said.
Piah also confirmed that the Joint National Security Investigation Team, headed by the Ministry of Justice, has formally charged George Harris, owner of a private bar and entertainment center in Paynesville, in connection with the alleged US$317 million cocaine trafficking case.
According to the minister, Harris faces charges of possession, importation, trafficking, distribution and sale of illicit drugs, economic sabotage, money laundering, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation, and criminal solicitation.
Piah reiterated that the government’s objective is not only to prosecute those directly linked to the seized narcotics but also to dismantle the broader criminal network believed to be behind the trafficking operation.
“We’ve always said the scope of the investigation is deep because it is not just about the drugs that were seized. It is also about what we now know to be an entrenched drug-related operation in the country since 2018,” he said.
He said Harris has already been formally charged, while investigators continue efforts to identify, question, and prosecute other suspects as the investigation advances.
