Panic Hits Business Entities, Banks & Money Transfer Agencies at Red-Light Market
By Edwin M. Fayia, III, edwinfayia@gmail.com
One of Liberia most notorious Ghettos and Gangsters “barracks”, an officer of the Liberia National Police (LNP) has shot and wounded a drug addicted war affected youth in Paynesville, outside Monrovia.
Reliable eyewitness sources on the scene of the shooting incident told www.newspublictrust.com that the police officer allegedly fired the war affected youth in the right leg on Thursday June 25, 2020, due to angry and verbal exchanges between the two Liberians after the both took part in the consumption of the illegal substance (Marijuana).
The sources also explained that minutes following the verbal and angry exchanges and discharged of the fire arm that seriously wounded the drugs addict at the well-established ghetto notoriously known as the barrack (a gangster center), the police officer decided to escape the scene of the incident.
When Liberia National Police commanders assigned in the area of the ghetto Barrack area were contacted for comment on the shooting incident, they declined and referred this writer to the chief spokesman of LNP Moses Carter for official comments.
Several mobile phone call attempts made to reach spokesman Carter of the LNP proved fruitless as his phone rang many times without an answer.
As a result, dozens of gangsters in hot pursuit of the LNP officer mounted a fierce chase and the escapee used the short cut at the east end of the Liberia largest food, vegetables and imported goods market of Red-Light in Paynesville.
According to some curious Liberians, who stormed the area immediately following the shooting incident, told this news organ that the alleged shooting made almost all of the barracks members angry and decided to arrest and beat the LNP officer to death.
Regrettably, when the news of the shooting incident hit the overcrowded Red-Light Market, panic stricken traders, street hawkers, bank workers and big store owners took to their heels and immediately shutdown their business entities in order to avoid looting by the hundreds of suspected criminals.
Several of the Red-Light traders and store owners expressed shock, fear and outright indignation over the alleged action of the LNP officer and called for immediate investigation into the shooting incident.
Besides, other community residents in the neighbourhood of the ghetto also revealed that on many occasions police, immigration and Liberia Drugs Enforcement officers are allegedly seen at the notorious drugs addict and gangsters hub in some kinds of transactions.
It can be recalled that over the years, several incidents of such nature continue to take place there and security authorities continue to allegedly pay deaf ears and blind eyes to the fatal incidents at the ghetto Barrack in Paynesville, outside Monrovia.
In February this year, an armed LNP officer shot in an empty space at the ghetto Barrack and that incident led to angry reactions from members of the gangsters’ area who at the time wanted to disarm the LNP officer.
But and fortunately the intervention of a prominent businessman (name withheld security for reasons) was able to calm the drugs addicted youth and associates and the LNP officer was rescued by senior police officers from the Parker Paint Junction joint security checkpoint in Paynesville.
However, several security raids have been launched at the Barrack Ghetto that plays host to drugs addicted and war affected gangsters that continue unabated. They rain terror through high jacking of mobile phones, money from early morning vegetable traders, businessmen and women as well as some civil servants going to work to the Red-Light General Market and Monrovia.
In a related development, several small and large business owners at the Red-Light General Market have expressed grave concern about the visible security threats at the commercial hub that are almost becoming a menace.
The businessmen and women also claimed that extortion and harassment at the hands of tax collectors, Paynesville City sanitation workers and some top government officials have become a complete nightmare and burden on them at the Red-Light General Market in Paynesville.
“Basically, I want to ask the Finance Minister Samuel Tweah to personally visit our Red-Light Market on a weekend and see firsthand the levels of extortion and harassment of our business people under such harsh socioeconomic conditions in our country,” Businessman William B. Kesselly pleaded.
“We are indeed gravely concerned and worried about this ugly shooting incident and Inspector General Patrick Sudue should put his feet down and take action now on the ghetto Barrack in order to protect our business entities as well as lives and properties in Paynesville and its environs,” businessman Patrick Mayango Jallah stressed.