By: Emmanuel S. Koffa
Grand Kru County, Liberia: The Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA) of the Grand Kru County Detachment has arrested a 33 years-old motorcyclist for allegedly possessing and transporting narcotic drugs at the Warkpo checkpoint in Dorbor Statutory District.
Speaking in an interview with Punch FM/TV Online Service, LDEA Grand Kru County Commander Augustine Wiah Sr. said, cyclist Ankal Nallely was picked up on Thursday, August 4, 2021 during a search operation at the Warkpo check point.
Commander Augustine Wiah said the alleged suspect was arrested with 303.9 grams of raw heroine with street value of US$136,755.
Augustine Wiah said the motorcyclist was investigated and charged with unlicensed possession of illegal drugs and was on Friday forwarded to the Barclayville Magisterial Court for prosecution.
When contacted, suspect Ankal Nallely denied the allegation of being the owner of the substance caught on his motorbike, stating that the bag in which the drug was discovered belongs to a passenger who boarded another bike due to the COVID-19 health protocol that prohibits three persons riding on a bike.
Ankal Nallely further narrated that the owner of the goods asked him to drop the bag but did give the exact location of where the bags should be dropped off in Grand Kru County. He said the owner of the confiscated bag belongs to a resident of Grand Bassa County.
The alleged motorcyclist drug trafficker further narrated that as motorcyclists, they do not search passengers’ bags before carrying them to their selected destination.
Court actors at the Barclayville Magisterial Court informed this media outlet that the case transferred by the LDEA is above the Court’s jurisdiction, therefore it has since been forwarded to the 12th Judicial Court of Grand Kru County.
According to Barclayville Magisterial Court Judge John Nyanti, the suspect was sent to the Withholding Facility in Barclayville for detention while awaiting opening of the Court, but the motorcyclist was rejected by the prison authorities due to the overcrowding of the facility.
Describing the situation as “total embarrassment for criminal justice system of Liberia, magistrate John Nyanti said the over-crowdedness of prison facilities is hampering the Justice system of the country.
When contacted, authorities at the prison center confirmed that the prison center is overcrowded with 21 inmates, and they could not hold any additional person.
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Emmanuel Sinyoung Koffa is a budding Liberian journalist who hails from Grand Kru County. Koffa works with Ahteenah Radio 102.5 FM/TV, owned by Liberia’s House Deputy Speaker Cllr. Fonati Koffa. Emmanuel Koffa started his journalism career as School Press Club Reporter at the A. A. Hoff Elementary and Junior High School (2009-2012), and later at the Barclayville Central High School (2012-2017). A former reporter of the Voice of Grand Kru in Grand Kru County, as well as the Liberia Global News Network, Bana FM/TV, Koffa has undergone series of media trainings in Grand Kru County and out of county. He can be contracted via emmanuelkoffa506@gmail.com; 0886022581/0775401123.
