Caught Up In Dragnet, Still In Custody Awaiting Court Trial
Photo courtesy-LDEA media: Liberian musician, Karwordou Cole, aka Bucky Raw
After a Friday morning raid on his home and arrest, the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) says popular Liberian music star, Karwordou Cole, aka Bucky Raw is still in custody, denying speculation in the public that he has been released.
The musician and others were arrested for allegedly being in possession of 31.6 grams of marijuana, in its ongoing nationwide operation “clean wave.
“In its ongoing nationwide operation “Clean Wave,” the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) has made another major arrest. Acting on a duly issued search and seizure warrant, officers arrested suspect Karwordou Cole, popularly known as Bucky Raw, along with others at about 7:00 AM at his Duport Road residence,” says an LDEA press release published on its official Facebook page.
During the operation, LDEA said its officers seized 31.6 grams of marijuana and suspect Bucky Raw and other individuals were arrested and are being investigated, after which they will be forwarded to court for prosecution.
Later on Friday, speculation was rife in the public and on social media that the musician was released, something the LDEA has denied.
The country’s new law, which came into effect in 2023, regulates, restrict, control, limit, or eradicate the illegal export and importation, as well as the flagrant use, abuse, and proliferation of narcotic substances within the bailiwick of the Republic.
All drug offenses are non-bailable under Liberia’s drug law.
According to the law, persons culpable of drug offenses shall be guilty of a felony of the first degree and, if used otherwise, shalt be guilty of a second-degree felony. Convicts shall face jail sentence between l0 to 20 years or as prescribed in Section 50.5 and 50.5 of the Penal Law of Liberia.
After taking office in 2024, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai declared narcotic drugs and substance abuse and trafficking in Liberia as a “national emergency”.