………Madness Through Drug Substances: Who is Mad and Crazy on the Streets?
By Amos Harris
Three months into President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration, Liberia faces a growing crisis that transcends politics and economics: a silent war that threatens the very soul of the nation—the war on drugs.
Across counties, at checkpoints, and in quiet communities, the horror of drug trafficking and abuse continues to spread like wildfire.
Amid the chaos, we must ask a troubling question: Who is truly mad in this national madness?
Is it the dazed youth slumped on the corner, consumed by Kush and numbed by Tramadol? Or is it the traffickers who turn our homeland into a transit zone, flooding our streets with poison?
Or worse, is the real madness embedded in a system slow to act while a generation is quietly being destroyed?
Since December 2024, the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) has launched a series of impactful raids.
The scale of these drug seizures is alarming and should jolt even the most detached observer.
In Lofa County, 169 kilos of marijuana seed stock were seized, followed by the destruction of over 2,384 marijuana trees, valued at nearly LRD 1 million.
At the Tienii checkpoint in Grand Cape Mount, a Sierra Leonean national was intercepted with Tramadol worth LRD 1.6 million.
In Ganta, a Liberian youth was caught attempting to sneak past security with Kush and Tramadol, small in size but deadly in consequence.
Bong County recorded another shocking bust: a couple apprehended with cocaine and Kush worth over LRD 682,000.
The tactics of traffickers have become increasingly sophisticated. At Bo Waterside, 516.5 grams of cocaine valued at over LRD 5 million were cleverly concealed in a car’s taillight.
In Foya District, 772 plates of marijuana and 8 boxes of Tramadol, totaling over USD 77,000, were intercepted in a single vehicle from Sierra Leone.
From Sinoe to Maryland, Margibi to Pleebo, the drugs are consistent: marijuana, Kush, Tramadol, and cocaine.
The devastation they cause—addiction, broken homes, mental illness, and death—is the price we pay for our complacency.
In August 2024, Abass Sanor was arrested with 31 kilograms of Kush hidden in a minibus.
He was convicted under the 2023 Liberia Drug and Substances Act and sentenced to 40 years in prison. While significant, this is just one win in a war far from over.
Where, then, is the true madness rooted? Is it in the user, the peddler, the trafficker, or the society that watches and waits until it is too late?
The real battle lies in rehabilitation, public education, and border protection.
As President Boakai embarks on his promise of national renewal, we must not overlook this crisis.
The drug war is not just about crime; it is a threat to public health, national security, and generational survival.
Drugs are not a distant problem; they are here. They are killing. And they are spreading fast.
The madness is real. The question is—who among us will act sanely to stop it?
Total Drug Seizures in Liberia Over One Year and Three Months
Between January 2024 and April 2025, the LDEA, in collaboration with Joint Security Forces, conducted extensive operations leading to the seizure of significant quantities of illegal drugs across Liberia.
Below is a summary of the total quantities and estimated street values of confiscated drugs:
1. Marijuana
* Quantities Seized:
* 772 plates
* 2,384 trees (~51kg)
* Additional 3.5kg (various locations)
* Estimated Weight: ~825kg
* Total Street Value: ~ USD 82,975 (Approx.. LRD 15.9 million)
2. Tramadol
* Seized:
* 16 Boxes (Foya, Tienii)
* 16 Scripts (Ganta, Pleebo)
* Total Street Value: ~ USD 9,583 (Approx. LRD 1.8 million)
3. Kush
* Seized:
* 31kg (Sanor case)
* Additional grams from Belefana, Ganta, Pleebo
* Estimated Weight: ~31.04kg
* Total Street Value: ~ USD 500,680 (Approx.. LRD 100.7 million)
4. Cocaine
* Seized:
* 516.5g (Bo Waterside)
* 56.7g (Belefana)
* 10.59g (Pleebo)
* 2.34kg (Bo Waterside, Dioumessy case)
* Estimated Weight: ~2.92kg
* Total Street Value: ~ USD 158,151 (Approx. LRD 32.1 million)
Combined Total of All Drug Seizures
* Estimated Value: ~$751,389 USD
* Equivalent in Liberian Dollars: ~LRD 150,603,000
Over 15 months, Liberia intercepted and seized:
* Over 825kg of marijuana
* 31kg of Kush
* 2.9kg of cocaine
* Substantial quantities of Tramadol
Fighting drugs is not the government’s job alone. This war demands the participation of church and mosque leaders, community chiefs, youth organizations, women’s groups, stakeholders in health, and international partners.
Let us all rise to protect our children. Protect our future.
The time to act is now.
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