On Monday, January 30, 2023, TRH Trading Corporation, the largest importer of frozen foods in Liberia, alerted authorities of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), the Liberia Seaport Police, the Liberia Maritime Authority and the Port Facility Security Office in Liberia to yet another attempt by drug smugglers to bring narcotics in the country.
The container seized on Monday is marked MNBU4204747 with products manufactured by BRF, the Brazil Frozen Food company which supplies frozen goods to multiple countries around the world. The drugs seized Monday at the Freeport of Monrovia were stored in 11 packs worth millions of dollars.
The drugs seizure Monday marks the second time in as many months that TRH Trading has brought to the attention of authorities, attempts by drug smugglers to infiltrate the system in Liberia.
Last October, TRH, working with local authorities also proved instrumental when a reported US$100 million worth of cocaine was seized, marking the biggest operation in Liberia’s history.
The bust capped a long-line of recent smuggling operations which criminal gangs have been using Liberia to transship drugs.
As the largest importer of frozen foods in Liberia, TRH Trading Corporation, is fully committed to the investment climate and prides itself for abiding by the laws of the Republic.
Today, TRH is up to date with all its tax obligations with the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA). TRH is also proud that none of its owners and employees has ever been charged in connection with narcotics cases.
TRH Trading has proven, time and time again, that it is totally against the trafficking of drugs and will not relent in turning over to authorities any suspicious activities that could bring its hard-earned reputation into disrepute.
TRH Trading welcomes recent commendations from the Liberian government through Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean as well as the heads of the LDEA and the Liberia Seaport, expressing satisfaction over the role it has played in alerting authorities to multiple attempts by drug smugglers to infiltrate Liberia with narcotics.
Jerry Diah, Senior Collector at the Freeport of Monrovia said it best: “The seizure of these drugs (cocaine) is the result of coordinated efforts, especially a tip-off we (security agencies) had gotten from TRH. The company had raised suspicion about a container that had berthed at the Freeport and wanted the police to search it.”
Logan Davies, Director of the Liberia Seaport Police also commended the efforts of TRH in seizing the narcotics.
Lorenzo Pelham, the Deputy Director General for Operations of the LDEA, described the seizure of the drugs as “another historical blow” to the drug cartels and a strong warning that they will all go down if they fail to realize that the game has changed.
“The suspected container was thoroughly searched by a combined team of LSP, the LDEA and a team from TRH Company. Our efforts of the search team was rewarded when 11 packs of cocaine was found,” Pelham noted.
The role played by TRH in these two busts clearly illustrate that the company has been a victim in all of this. In a communication to TRH Monday, the frozen food giant, BRF wrote that it became aware of an allegation of an issue involving container MNBU4204747 (“Container”), containing products manufactured by BRF.
BRF says it has with immediate effect, set up an internal investigation procedure to verify if the Container has been compromised at any stage during its journey to the port of destination at Monrovia, Liberia.
BRF wrote: “As a preliminary comment, please note that any BRF sales overseas undergo internal and external comprehensive controls including a thorough scanning by the Brazilian Federal Police, as per the standard procedure established by the authorities themselves.
In addition, BRF counts with other monitoring measures that track any irregular deviation in our products or the security seals of our containers. Nevertheless, we understand that by using a complex supply chain system we are exposed to potential irregularities and/ or operational failures by third parties.”
TRH stands ready to defend its integrity and work with authorities and agree with Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean that “Liberia will not be a haven for drug traffickers — whether as a point of transit or final destination.” (As Delivered)
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