Two Senior LDEA Officers Found Guilty Of Drug Trafficking

A 12-member jury panel at the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Margibi County has adjudged two senior officers of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) and a Nigerian national guilty in connection with US$181,008 and over L$36 million drug trafficking case in Margibi County.

The jury’s guilty verdict against defendants Joe Logan, a senior-ranking LDEA officer assigned to the Roberts International Airport, senior female LDEA officer Lovette Flowers, and Tony Obi, a Nigerian national, came after two hours of heated arguments from both the state prosecutor and the defense lawyers.

The prosecution contended that during the month-long trial, it produced four witnesses who overwhelmingly linked the defendants to the crime. According to the state, defendant Quita Dolo Kosso and another LDEA officer, Abdullah Sherrif, who were part of the drug syndicate, admitted to the crime, and both have been sentenced to five and two years’ imprisonment, respectively.

State prosecutors explained that out of the fourteen plates of cocaine confiscated from the drug cartel, both defendants Logan and Flowers (LDEA officers) took four plates from the fruit of the crime and sold said drugs on the black market.

The prosecution further stated that officers of the LDEA received US$10,000 as a bribe from the drug cartel to compromise the fight against drugs in the country.

“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. So, bring a guilty verdict against them to serve as a deterrent to other law enforcement officers who may want to engage in similar acts,” state prosecutors told the jurors.

In their counterargument, defense lawyers asked the jurors to set the defendants free, as the state has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. “There exists reasonable doubts in the state prosecutor’s argument, and the law says once there is a reasonable doubt, the defendants should be set free,” the defense team stated.

“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 lawyers maintained.

According to court records of this case, the drugs were intercepted from convict Quita Kosso in July 2025, who had traveled from Thailand to the Roberts International Airport (RIA) on board a Kenyan Flight.