KAKATA, Margibi County – In a landmark ruling that has sent shockwaves through Liberia’s anti-drug agency, a 12-member jury at the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Margibi County has convicted two senior officers of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) and a Nigerian national of cocaine trafficking.
The convicted individuals are Joe Logan, a senior LDEA officer assigned to the Roberts International Airport (RIA); Lovette Flowers, a senior female LDEA officer; and Tony Obi, a Nigerian national.
They were found guilty in connection with a drug case valued at US$181,008 and L$63,201,600.
The unanimous guilty verdict was delivered on Monday after more than two hours of deliberation, following a heated legal battle between state prosecutors and defense lawyers in a trial that lasted over a month.
Presenting its case, the prosecution told the court it produced four witnesses whose testimonies overwhelmingly linked the defendants to the crime.
Prosecutors disclosed that two other members of the syndicate — Quita Dolo Kosso and LDEA officer Abdullah Sherrif — had earlier admitted to their roles in the cartel and have already been sentenced to five and two years in prison, respectively.
According to the indictment, a total of fourteen plates of cocaine were confiscated from the syndicate. However, prosecutors alleged that defendants Logan and Flowers criminally removed four plates from the seized drugs and sold them on the black market.
The state further alleged that officers of the LDEA received US$10,000 as a bribe from the drug cartel to compromise the investigation.
“The last people ever to be involved in drug crime are LDEA officers because they were trained to detect and fight drug crime. These LDEA officers facing trial have been involved with organized drug crime with their Nigerian counterpart called Tony Obi,” the lead state prosecutor told the jury.
He urged the jurors to return a guilty verdict to serve as a deterrent to other law enforcement officers.
Defense lawyers, in their counterargument, asked the jury to acquit their clients, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“There exists reasonable doubt in the state prosecutor’s argument, and the law says once there is a reasonable doubt, the defendants should be set free,” the defense argued.
The defense team also pointed to what it called a major contradiction in the state’s evidence, noting that investigators had initially established ten plates of cocaine but later increased the number to fourteen plates.
“The investigation established 10 plates of cocaine instead of 14 plates. So, for the fact that the state has increased the 10 plates of cocaine to 14 plates, it means there is variance or contradiction in their witnesses' testimonies, which should operate in favor of the defendants,” the defense maintained.
According to court records, the cocaine was intercepted in July 2025 from convict Quita Kosso, who had arrived at the Roberts International Airport from Thailand aboard a Kenyan flight.