-In Liberia’s northwestern Lofa County
By Tokpa Tarnue- tarnue82@gmail.com
Voinjama, Liberia- Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA) is stepping up its crackdown the narcotic drugs trafficking in the country.
The Lofa Detachment of the LDEA early this week confiscated and destroyed 224kgs of both low and high quality marijuana as well as other harmful substances value at 1,712, 724.00 Liberian Dollars. One US dollar is now being traded for between 163-167 Liberian dollar.
The illicit drugs, according to LDEA Lofa county commander Special Agent Moses Nimely, were confiscated between the periods of June 2018 to March 2019.
Commander Nimely said most of the drugs destroyed were confiscated from Wanhasa, Lukambeh, Kolahun and Foya districts
The burning was witnessed by members of the joint
security of Lofa County, education officials, motorcyclists, health workers, Journalists,
officials of various Line Ministries in the County and the Judiciary, among
others.
The destruction exercise was held at the former Ebola
treatment unit (ETU) in Voinjama City along the Kolahun high way.
Commander Nimely commanded other security agencies in the county for the level of support to the LDEA over the years.
He said the collaborative efforts from other security agencies were very helpful during while confiscating the harmful substances across the county.
But the successes of the Liberian anti-narcotic agency is not taking place without challenges.
The LDEA official named inadequate mobility and limited manpower as some of the factors that continued to hamper the operations of the LDEA in this vast county, which borders two West African states—Guinea on the North and Sierra Leone on the West.
Meanwhile, the local LDEA Commander Moses disclosed that there are two pending cases from Zorzor and Foya districts to be sent to court for prosecution.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is an agency within the Liberian government charged with fighting drug-related crimes. Before its creation, fighting drug crimes was a responsibility of the Ministry of Defense.