MONROVIA – More than a month after 198 compressed plates of high-grade cocaine were intercepted at Roberts International Airport, the Unity Party-led government’s promise of a swift, transparent, and independent investigation has, in the estimation of its critics, produced the opposite—secrecy, delay, and suspicion of compromise. A central suspect has slipped out of prison without a trace, charges have touched only low-level handlers, and authorities admit they cannot account for the whereabouts of nearly all of those charged. Against that backdrop, one of the country’s most prominent opposition politicians has declared that Liberians have lost confidence in the government’s capacity to deliver justice and is now demanding international intervention in the case, as THE ANALYST reports.
Addressing a press conference in Monrovia on Monday, July 13, 2026, Alternative National Congress (ANC) political leader Alexander B. Cummings called for international assistance to investigate, preserve, and audit the entire process surrounding the June 8, 2026 seizure of US$19.2 million worth of cocaine at Roberts International Airport.
He announced that he would personally lead the charge to encourage his friends in the international community to take up the matter, arguing that the government has demonstrated neither the political will nor the institutional and technical capacity to conduct a truly independent and professional investigation.
“This government has acted in more ways to doubt their impartiality than they have to inspire confidence that they can give the Liberian people justice in this matter,” Mr. Cummings told journalists.
Cummings said the public has, in short, lost confidence in the UP-led government’s ability to deliver justice and to stop cartels from trafficking drugs in and through the country.
“Secretive, Slow, and Suspicious”
Mr. Cummings said the ANC convened the press conference because what is unfolding constitutes a serious and grave threat to Liberia and its citizens. It has been more than a month, he noted, since the interception of the 198 compressed plates of high-grade cocaine at the airport, and though the government promised a swift, transparent, uncompromising, and independent investigation, what the public has witnessed is an inquiry that has been secretive, slow, and seemingly compromised.
He drew a line between the handling of the cocaine case and what he described as a pattern of unfulfilled promises, citing the mysterious approval and funding of the Foya construction project and the alleged illegal mining at the Liberia-Guinea border, which he said has brought the two countries into conflict.
On such grave matters of corruption and misrule, he argued, the government’s words have proven heavy on public relations and propaganda, and light on substance.
To date, the opposition leader observed, the government has not told the public how such a massive quantity of cocaine entered the country, who brought it in, or where it originated.
“Are we to believe it was manufactured in Liberia?” he asked, adding that the question of how such a huge volume of narcotics could enter and transit any country without the knowledge and authority of people with significant power is the million-dollar question the public is now putting to the government.
Missing Suspects, Unanswered Questions
Even more alarming, Mr. Cummings said, is the revelation before the Liberian Senate that Michael Brown, otherwise known as “US Marshall”—a central figure in the case who was previously jailed for drug trafficking, a non-bailable offense—has mysteriously slipped out of prison and vanished without a trace.
The government claims five suspects have been charged, he noted, yet admits it does not know the whereabouts of nearly all of them.
The only suspect presented to court—weeks after it became clear the drugs were found at his home and workplace—is the one who voluntarily surrendered, Mr. Cummings pointed out.
That record, he argued, raises disturbing questions about collusion between state security personnel and the “big hands” within or close to the corridors of power.
“This is unacceptable!” he declared, recalling that the government had promised to investigate and charge all those involved, including senior figures in government, yet even the slow-paced charges have focused only on low-level handlers.
“A Direct Threat to National Security”
The ANC leader reminded the government that drug trafficking is not just a crime but a direct threat to national security, the integrity of state institutions, and the future of Liberia’s children.
Around the world, he warned, drug cartels have destabilized nations, corrupted officials, fueled violence, and crippled economies, and Liberia must never be allowed to walk that dangerous path.
Drug abuse, he said, is already destroying the country’s youth and communities. He cited confirmation from the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) that ghettos exist in nearly every neighborhood in and around Monrovia—more than 866 in total—serving as hubs for chronic drug use and crime, while children sleep in cemeteries and the epidemic spreads into rural areas, leaving no community untouched.
“The pain is real,” he said. “This matter is no joke, and we are not going to allow a small group of people to play with us here.”
Mr. Cummings recalled that in his January 29, 2024 Annual Message, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai assured the nation that the fight against drugs was a national emergency, yet after nearly two years, the drug problem continues to grow.
Failure to act decisively, he cautioned, risks not only destroying young people but also eroding investor confidence and damaging Liberia’s reputation among allies at a moment when the country desperately needs trust, investment, and cooperation to grow its economy and create jobs.
He also accused the LDEA of practicing selective justice, saying the agency parades and photographs small offenders—even publicly forcing women naked from their homes—while proceeding slowly and secretly in the large cocaine bust. That selective justice, he insisted, must end.
Regional Bodies Urged to Act
Beyond international technical assistance, Mr. Cummings urged the Mano River Union and ECOWAS to invoke their early warning mechanisms to ensure that all culprits are apprehended and brought to justice without compromise.
The scale of the trafficking operation, he argued, points to sophisticated transnational networks capable of laundering proceeds through regional trade, real estate, construction, and other shadow schemes.
He commended patriotic Liberians, civil society organizations, media professionals, and the Liberian Senate for their uncompromising demand for an independent and credible investigation free of political manipulation and cover-ups.
The strength of Liberia’s democracy, he said, is measured by the courage to confront wrongdoing, protect the public interest, and uphold the rule of law even when it is politically inconvenient, and citizens must therefore mobilize lawfully and within the confines of the Constitution to demand a truly transparent investigation backed by international technical support.
All those connected to or named in relation to the trafficking, he stressed, must be thoroughly investigated regardless of the offices they hold or their perceived status in society.
“Together, We Can Fix Liberia”
Closing his statement, Mr. Cummings warned that if the government places the interests of a small number of greedy and heartless individuals above the hopes of struggling mothers and fathers whose children are being destroyed by drugs, it will have failed one of its most sacred responsibilities.
Government, he reminded his audience, exists to protect its people, to uphold the rule of law, and to safeguard the future of the next generation, and the challenge must therefore be confronted with honesty, courage, and determination.
Together, he said, Liberians can build a country where government does not merely serve and benefit the few, where institutions are strengthened to protect all citizens, and where sustained poverty and inequality are eliminated.
“Together, we can fix Liberia,” he declared. “Liberia deserves better. May God bless us all, and may God save the State.”