NATIONAL NEWS
MONROVIA – The Government of Liberia has formally charged the owner of the Private Bar Entertainment Center in Paynesville with multiple serious criminal offenses as authorities intensify what they describe as a far-reaching investigation into an entrenched drug trafficking network believed to have operated in the country for years.
By: Trokon S. Wrepue – trokon1992seokin@gmail.com
The announcement was made Tuesday by Information Minister Jerolinmek Matthew Piah during the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing in Monrovia.
According to the minister, George Harris has already been charged while security agencies continue expanding their investigation into what the government says is a deeply rooted drug cartel.
“It is important to announce that George Harris who is the owner of the Private Bar Entertainment Center in Paynesville has been charged with the following: unlicensed possession of illicit drug substances, unlicensed importation of illicit drug or substances, trafficking, trading, distribution, and sale of illicit drug, economic sabotage, money laundering, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation and criminal solicitation,” Minister Piah told reporters.
Piah said the charges against Harris represent only one phase of a broader national investigation that has linked several major narcotics seizures, including the US$19 million cocaine case and the more recent drug seizure valued at approximately US$300 million.
He stressed that investigators are treating the cases as interconnected rather than isolated incidents.
“Mr Harris has already been charged as the investigation continues. What we now know as entrenched drug related operation in the country since 2018 and what that shows is that the cartel is rooted,” Piah said.
The Information Minister explained that the government’s objective extends beyond prosecuting individuals directly connected to seized narcotics.
He said authorities are determined to dismantle the entire criminal network responsible for financing, importing and distributing illegal drugs throughout Liberia.
“So these discoveries and these seizures have not been treated or handled in isolation. The scope is bigger because you wanting to get to the root of the seized drug and bring the culprit to justice. You also want to ensure that that root that the cartel has taken here is uprooted,” he stated.
Piah disclosed that investigators are continuing to identify additional suspects and warned that more arrests and prosecutions are expected as evidence emerges.
He emphasized that anyone found to have participated in the drug trafficking network, regardless of status, would face prosecution under Liberian law.
“So more and more individuals as the security investigation uncovered will be brought in for questioning and where the facts are established linking individuals to the 19 million drugs or the 300 million drugs or the cartel operation in general, when the evidences are found, those individuals will be appropriately charged,” the minister said.
He concluded by assuring the public that the government’s anti-drug campaign remains active and that further indictments are expected as investigators pursue every lead.
“So we are looking forward to the additional individuals who will be charged as the government continues its investigation,” Piah added.
The latest charges underscore the Boakai administration’s ongoing efforts to dismantle transnational drug trafficking operations following a series of record cocaine seizures that have drawn national and international attention.
Authorities say investigations remain ongoing and have not ruled out additional arrests as they seek to uncover the full extent of the alleged cartel’s operations in Liberia.
