Accused Men In 100M Drug Case Disappear After Verdict; As Thomas Doe-Nah, Saah Samoi, Others Heads Under The Knife

Crime Watch

Accused Men In 100M Drug Case Disappear After Verdict; As Thomas Doe-Nah, Saah Samoi, Others Heads Under The Knife

IPNEWS: After an overnight party for their release from prison, the authority Independent Probe Newspaper, has established that all four men who were charged with money laundering, unlicensed possession and importation of controlled drugs, and criminal conspiracy, have disappeared without trace.

On late Thursday, May 18, 2023, Judge Blamo Dixon of Criminal Court ‘C’ acquitted four men accused of importing 520 kilograms of cocaine worth US$100 million in Liberia in 2022.

The acquittal came after 11 of the 12 jurors found the men not guilty of all charges, including money laundering, unlicensed possession of controlled drugs, unlicensed importation of controlled drugs, and criminal conspiracy.

Amidst the verdict, IPNEWS has in its possession, a copy of a communication signed by both Thomas Doe-Nah, commissioner General and Customs Commissioner Saa Samoi directing APM Terminals to release the container containing the 100 million drugs without checking.

IPNEWS understands that President George Weah being angered by the verdict has ordered late Friday night a full-scale investigation into reasons for the granting of the waiver contrary to normal processing.

Report from Washington suggest that there is angered over Thursday’s verdict and there would be consequences for the Liberian government, including members of the judiciary.

Interestingly, legal luminaries have hinted IPNEWS that the government of Liberia cannot proceed with an appeal to the supreme court under a criminal case, however, could reassert the accused on different charges.

One of the legal experts advised the dissolution of ‘a jury trial under Liberia’s jurisprudence given the current economy which has availed many juries to tempering.

Prior to the verdict, one of the juries stated, Makki Ahmed Issam, Adulai Djalo, Oliver Zayzay, and Malam Conte had no knowledge of the cocaine smuggling operation, as claimed by the government.

The 520-kilogram haul of the illicit substance had been seized by authorities in 2022 among containers that TRH Trading had imported from Brazil.

According to TRH Trading, which is a subsidiary of AJA Group Holdings, the accused had allegedly offered to pay US$200,000 for a single container that contained the cocaine, which at the time was costing less than US$30,000.

The accused, according to the company, later doubled their offer to US$400,000 within less than eight hours, and finally to US$1 million, a situation they claimed raised a red flag, leading them to contact the United States Ambassador, who then passed the information to Liberian security officials.

These claims were repeated in court by the government and its key witness, Samuel Nimely, the general manager of TRH Trading, and formed part of its core argument during the case.

However, the jury found that the case against the men lacked conclusive evidence linking them to the cocaine shipment, dealing a blow to President George Weah’s administration, which had hoped to use a guilty verdict to boost its claims of a serious crackdown on drug abuse in the country.

The acquittal also called into question the investigation conducted by the government security apparatus, which led to the accused being charged with numerous crimes, including money laundering, unlicensed possession of controlled drugs, unlicensed importation of controlled drugs, and criminal conspiracy.

If the accused had been found guilty, they could have faced a prison sentence of several years up to life imprisonment in accordance with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of 2014.

In Liberia, drug trafficking is considered a serious offense, and specific penalties and prison terms vary depending on various factors, such as the type and quantity of drugs involved, the defendant’s criminal history, and the circumstances of the case.

The jury verdict, as announced by Dixon, touched off a scene of jubilation, with some supporters of the accused seen praying and others dancing.

The government is not legally allowed to appeal the verdict, and as such, the accused are expected to be released from detention and from answering to the indictment. However, it is unclear whether the government will refund the US$200,000 and phones seized from the accused.

The case experienced several delays before concluding, and at one point, the prosecution hastily ended its presentation of evidence after failing to secure the testimonies of three out of its eight witnesses.

This unexpected turn of events came after the prosecution team boasted of having indisputable evidence to convict the accused of importing the largest quantity of drugs in the history of the country.

The development played into the hands of the accused lawyers, who argued that the prosecution’s failure to produce its additional witnesses, despite requesting extensions on multiple occasions, implied a lack of sufficient evidence to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Of the eight witnesses, only five appeared in court, including TRH Trading and the chief investigator of the Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA), who headed the panel that charged the defendants in 2022.

The defense lawyers had Conte testify on behalf of his accused colleagues. Conte, a Guinea-Bissau national who is fluent in Arabic, accused the government and TRH Trading of making up allegations in order to cover up the latter, which is one of the richest local companies, shipping the cocaine.

This allegation was backed by the President of the Customs Brokers Association, James Hinneh, who accused TRH Trading of illegally importing goods in the country.

According to Hinneh, TRH Trading makes imports without having an import permit declaration or an import notification form. These documents are key security instruments for shipment in the freight industry.

It may be recalled, Trial jurors at Criminal Court “C” on Thursday, May 18, 2023, handed down a unanimous not guilty verdict against the four defendants, Malam Conte, Adulai Djibri Djalo, Makki Admeh Issam and Oliver A. Zayzay.

following the jurors’ verdict in the US$100 million cocaine case, Judge Blamo Dixon immediately ordered the prosecution to return the defendants’ US$210,000 that was seized from them by operatives of the Liberian government.

Before the verdict had been rendered, in a counter argument with the defense, the prosecution argued that they proved beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused were guilty.

The prosecution claimed that all of their witnesses’ testimonies were corroborated and called on the jurors to hand down a guilty verdict against the four defendants Malam Conte, Adulai Djibri Djalo, Makki Admeh Issam, and Oliver A. Zayzay.

Prosecution also said during the case 6 instruments were brought forth as pieces of evidence to the court.

While the defense team counter-argued and called on the jurors to hand down a not guilty verdict

The defense further argued that the government of Liberia falsely linked the defendants to the crime so for that reason the jury should look at all of their pieces of evidence that were brought to court and hand down a not guilty verdict.

“Free these people base on evidence; the was know evidence to link the defendants. The entire case rested on the statement form Malam Conte.”

Defense claimed that the government had allowed the main people to go and they brought in “innocent people to court.”

The defense further stressed and requested the court to tell the government through the prosecution to return their clients’ US$210,000.

INDICTMENT

Indictment of the men by the Grand Jury of Montserrado also noted that the act of the defendants is contrary to Section 15.2 of the Money Laundering Act.

The four defendants and others to be identified, who are linked to the recent US$100 million cocaine have been indicted by the Grand Jury of Montserrado County on charges of money laundering, unlicensed possession and importation of controlled drugs, and criminal conspiracy.

Defendants Malam Conte, Adulai Djibri Djalo, Makki Admeh Issam and Oliver A. Zayzay and others to be identified were indicted by the grand juror for Montserrado for the alleged crime of Money Laundering, Unlicensed Possession of controlled Drugs Unlicensed important of Controlled Drugs Criminal Conspiracy

The four counts in the indictment noted that Conte, Djalo, Issam, Zayzay, and others to be identified, conspired, colluded, and facilitated to commit the crime of Money Laundering, which is a felony of the first degree, and the unlicensed importation of controlled drug or substance.

The others are unlicensed possession of controlled drugs or substances which are also felonies of the first degree and criminal conspiracy, a felony of second Degree.

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