The Office of the Consulate General of Colombia in Liberia says it does not know or have any records on the Colombian national who was arrested along with a Spaniard in connection with the raiding of US$317 million worth of cocaine in the country. Mr. Houssein Cheaitou is the Honorary Consul General of Colombia to Liberia.
It can be recalled that on Tuesday, July 21, a joint security team, appointed by President Joseph Boakai, led by the National Security Agency (NSA), carried out a wave of arrests that culminated in a raid on a stash house located in the VOA Community, Paynesville.
There, authorities seized over 3,971 kilograms of cocaine valued at three hundred seventeen million, six hundred ninety thousand United States dollars (US$317,690,000.00) and took two more suspects, a Colombian and a Serbian, into custody.
But speaking to reporters at the Consulate Office on Bushrod Island, outside Monrovia on Wednesday, July 22, the Administrator of the Colombian Consulate in Liberia, Abenigo Balesh Pokor, disclosed that the Consulate cannot account for the alleged actions of any undocumented national who has been allegedly linked to the commission of a crime.
According to him, the Consulate has never interacted with the perceived Colombian cocaine suspect. He noted that the Consulate does not know when the cocaine suspect arrived in the country, and cannot also establish whether he holds a legitimate passport from Colombia.
Probe passport
He called on the joint security to launch a probe to authenticate the legitimacy of the Colombian passport alleged to be carried by the suspect, amid the failure of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) to provide information on his entry to the country.
“Let me clearly distance the Consulate from the (Colombian) individual’s action. We regret the situation of this kind as a Consulate, and we distance ourselves from individuals who bear Colombia’s passports and entered into Liberia without our acknowledgement or being captured in our database.”
He stressed that Colombians travelling to Liberia in good faith should ensure that they are captured in the database of the Consulate, but those entering illegally and are caught in unlawful acts should face the full weight of the law.
He maintained that in keeping with diplomatic protocols, every citizen traveling to a country must first visit their country’s embassy, instead of residing undocumented in another foreign land.
This, Pokor stressed, is intended for embassies to promptly respond to their respective governments and citizens who are in dire need of assistance while away from their motherland.
If you even come through the Roberts International Airport and you don’t come to us, we do not have records on you. We don’t even know this individual who was arrested, and he is not in our database,” he stated.
Colombian government not aware
Pokor denied that the Consulate has held any interaction or conversation with the suspect, saying that the Consulate cannot account for any Colombian tourist or others who sought permanent resident status in Liberia but failed to declare their presence.
He pointed out that the Consulate has not provided any information to the Government of Colombia on the arrest of the cocaine suspect on grounds that it does not have any record of the suspect.
“How can we call the government of Colombia (to inform them about the arrest of ‘a Colombian’ for cocaine? The question would be ‘who is this person or what is his passport number? We don’t know him, and so, how do we account for him? It’s even possible that he bears a Colombian passport, but he’s not a Colombian national. We don’t know his entry date into Liberia. If he is associated (with the cocaine), he should be prosecuted in keeping with the law,” Pokor noted.
No Link To Importation
Mr. Pokor denied accusations that the Consulate has any link to the importation of cocaine via the cold storage, Cheaitou Brothers Incorporated, owned by Consul General Mr. Houssein Cheaitou.
.The Company, which has been operating in Liberia since 1991, is a wholesaler of frozen meat and fish on the Liberian market.
Mr. Pokor emphasized that those making claims that cocaine is being trafficked to Liberia through cold storage should provide the details and evidence to law enforcement officers for the appropriate actions.
He used this medium to disclose that the Consulate has records on approximately 20 Colombians residing in Liberia.
He pointed out that the Consulate has held talks with authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the entry and exit of Colombians to Liberia.
Mr. Pokor said measures have been put in place to ensure that officers of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) update the Consulate on the entry and exit of citizens from Colombia regularly.
He noted that many of those coming into the country are preoccupied with many things and, as such, updates must be provided to combat drug cartels and their networks.
He, however, warned Colombians contemplating traveling to Liberia for tourism or other purposes to enjoy the peace and hospitality of the nation, instead of engaging in unwholesome acts. Courtesy By Obediah Johnson
