MONROVIA – The Witness Protection Agency has escalated the stakes in Liberia’s cocaine investigation. The agency has formally condemned media institutions and private individuals for disclosing the identities of whistleblowers and cooperating witnesses in the US$19.2 million Roberts International Airport cocaine seizure case. Acting Assistant Manager for Public Affairs Abraham R. Sirleaf signed the statement, citing specific provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2021. The WPA characterizes the disclosures not as editorial judgment but as second-degree felony offenses. It has called on the Liberia National Police and the Ministry of Justice to cite violators for questioning immediately. The agency warns the exposures directly serve the interests of drug traffickers, as THE ANALYST reports.
The Witness Protection Agency (WPA) has issued a formal statement condemning what it describes as the reckless, unlawful, and dangerous disclosure of the identities of whistleblowers, witnesses, and cooperating persons connected to the joint security investigation into the seizure of approximately 237.6 kilograms of cocaine valued at US$19.2 million at Roberts International Airport (RIA). The agency characterized the conduct not as a matter of editorial judgment or press freedom but as a criminal offense under the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2021, warranting prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.
Section 11(d) and (e) of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2021 provides that a person or entity that, in the course of an investigation into a protected disclosure, conceals or suppresses evidence commits an offense equivalent to a second-degree felony punishable by a prison term of not less than five years. The same section further provides that a person to whom a disclosure is made who fails to keep the disclosure confidential commits an offense equivalent to a second-degree felony, punishable consistent with Section 11(d) of the Act.
June 8 Seizure at Center of Investigation
The WPA statement noted that the June 8, 2026, cocaine seizure was conducted by the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), joint security forces, and international partners, and uncovered a large shipment of cocaine concealed in cargo bound for Heathrow Airport in London. The joint security investigators have intentionally withheld the identities of cooperating persons from the public for the singular purpose of gathering further intelligence, securing additional arrests, and dismantling the broader transnational trafficking network.
The WPA stated that the integrity of the investigation and the lives of those cooperating with it depend entirely on the strict confidentiality of those identities. It is therefore with grave alarm, the statement said, that the agency has observed media institutions, online platforms, and private individuals actively and recklessly exposing those identities to the public.
Law Imposes Confidentiality Obligation
Pursuant to Section 10(c) of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2021, a person who receives a disclosure bears a direct and immediate obligation to keep it in a manner that clearly protects the confidentiality of both its content and the identity of the disclosing person. This obligation subsists for as long as the matter remains under investigation. Section 8(a) makes it unlawful to interfere with any person’s right to make a protected disclosure, while Section 8(b) legally obligates every person who receives a disclosure to protect the disclosing person’s identity.
The WPA further noted that the legal protection in this matter extends beyond whistleblower status. Individuals who provide information to investigators in a criminal investigation may also become witnesses whose testimony or cooperation is necessary for prosecution, bringing them within the protection of the Witness Protection Agency.
Beyond domestic law, the unauthorized disclosures also violate Article 32(2a) of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which requires member states to establish procedures for the physical protection of cooperating persons, including permitting non-disclosure or limitations on the disclosure of information concerning the identity and whereabouts of such persons.
Disclosures Serve Drug Traffickers, WPA Says
The agency warned that the operational consequences of these disclosures are devastating and irreversible. When cooperating persons are publicly exposed, the WPA stated, whistleblowers and witnesses withdraw from active cooperation, ongoing investigations collapse, suspects escape prosecution, and future informants choose silence over cooperation.
The agency further argued that public exposure of whistleblowers and witnesses increases the culture of impunity and directly undermines President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s publicly stated commitment to combating drug trafficking and corruption.
The statement also cautioned that such disclosures signal to Liberia’s international partners that the country cannot protect those who assist its law enforcement efforts.
“The persons responsible for such reckless disclosure cannot claim to be performing a public service or acting in the public interest while at the same time violating existing laws,” the statement declared. “The WPA believes media institutions and individuals engaging in such acts are serving the interests of drug traffickers and criminal cartels over the interests of the Liberian State and its people.”
WPA Issues Directive to LNP, Ministry of Justice
In light of the foregoing, the WPA issued a formal directive, effective immediately, calling on the Liberia National Police (LNP) and the Ministry of Justice to cite for questioning all media institutions, online platforms, bloggers, and private individuals who engage in publishing, broadcasting, or circulating the identities of protected persons in the US$19.2 million drug trafficking case and all future investigations of a similar nature.
The Witness Protection Agency was established by an Act of the National Legislature in August 2022 as an autonomous agency of the Executive Branch of Government of Liberia. It also has the responsibility to administer the Witness Protection Programs in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).
The WPA reaffirmed its commitment to the protection of witnesses and whistleblowers against threats, intimidation, political harm, and retaliatory actions within and across the borders of Liberia.