Monrovia – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. has dismissed three high officers of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Company (LDEA) and appointed an interim administration workforce made up of safety professionals to strengthen the nation’s response to its worsening drug disaster.
By: Willie N. Tokpah
These eliminated embody Anthony Ok. Souh, Director Common; Gwee Ok. Porkpah, Deputy Director Common for Administration; and Sebastian Farr, Deputy Director Common for Operations.
In accordance with an announcement from the Govt Mansion issued Thursday, August 28, the dismissals are a part of ongoing efforts to revamp the LDEA and restore public confidence in its operations, amid a surge in illicit drug trafficking and abuse—notably the unfold of artificial substances equivalent to kush.
To fill the management vacuum, President Boakai appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitzgerald T. M. Biago as Officer-in-Cost (OIC), Ernest T. Tarpeh, Assistant Director for Particular Providers on the Nationwide Safety Company (NSA), as Deputy for Administration and Investigation and Assistant Commissioner of Police Patrick B. Kormazu of the as Deputy for Operations.
The appointments have been broadly welcomed, with residents and civil society teams expressing optimism that the workforce’s self-discipline, integrity, and legislation enforcement expertise will deliver renewed vitality to the LDEA.
DCP Biago and ACP Kormazu are nationally acknowledged for his or her operational management in combating organized crime and narcotics trafficking throughout the LNP. In the meantime, Mr. Tarpeh has earned a repute on the NSA for his strategic oversight and investigative experience in high-profile safety instances.
Safety specialists say President Boakai’s choice to nominate legislation enforcement professionals with confirmed monitor data sends a transparent sign of his administration’s dedication to tackling Liberia’s drug epidemic, which has develop into each a public well being and nationwide safety disaster, notably amongst younger individuals.
Throughout Liberia, communities are reporting an increase in artificial drug use and dependancy. Spiritual leaders, civil society actors, and well being employees have constantly referred to as on the federal government to declare a nationwide emergency and undertake aggressive reform measures. The President’s newest choice is seen as a direct response to these appeals.
Sources on the Govt Mansion say the interim management has been tasked with restoring operational credibility on the LDEA, strengthening collaboration with different safety establishments, and laying the inspiration for a everlasting reform-driven administration.
President Boakai, who campaigned on a pledge to eradicate drug trafficking and dependancy, has confronted criticism over integrity lapses on the company. Lately, the LDEA suspended its Chief of Operations, Maj. Abraham O. Payne (U-704), following the leak of an audio recording by which he allegedly ordered the discharge of his daughter, arrested in a ghetto for drug-related actions. The recording, which shortly went viral, captured Maj. Payne angrily demanding her launch, claiming she had been assaulted by officers.
This isn’t the primary time the President has needed to overhaul the company’s management. In 2024, Boakai dismissed one other set of high officers—Abraham Kromah (Director Common), Gbawo Kowo (Deputy Director for Administration) and Al Hassan Fadiga (Deputy Director for Operations) —following inner disputes that crippled the LDEA’s operations.
With the brand new appointments, many Liberians see a possible turning level within the battle to reclaim the nation’s streets from the grip of medicine.
