Monrovia — Criminal Court "C," the First Judicial Circuit Court of Montserrado, has issued a contempt charge against Acting Justice Minister Cllr. Nyenati Tuan and has also requested the Central Bank to appear before its jurisdiction for failing to comply with a mandate to release US$113,045 to defendants in the alleged US$100 million cocaine case.
The trouble for Cllr. Tuan and the CBL stems from their failure to comply with the court after the Supreme Court rejected a Bill of Information filed by the Ministry of Justice in the alleged US$100 million cocaine case, which resulted in Judge Yamie Q. Gbeisaye of Criminal Court "A" resuming jurisdiction over the case.
The Ministry filed the Bill of Information following a not guilty ruling in favor of the four defendants, asserting that they were not aware of the cocaine smuggling operation as claimed by the government.
The acquittal came after 11 of the 12 jurors found the defendants not guilty on all charges, including money laundering, unlicensed possession of controlled drugs, unlicensed importation of controlled drugs, and criminal conspiracy.
Following the acquittal, the Ministry of Justice expressed its disappointment with the not guilty verdict of Criminal Court "A" of the first judicial Circuit of Montserrado County at the Temple of Justice, presided over by Judge A. Blamo Dixon, in the $100 million drug bust trial.
Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean Jr. said the verdict undermines the collective efforts of Liberia and its international coalition to clamp down on the illegal transit of illicit drugs using West Africa as a conduit for trading narcotics internationally from Latin America and elsewhere.
"There was $100 million USD worth of drugs stacked in a container that landed in Monrovia, and the accused were caught red-handed attempting to take ownership of the container holding the illicit drugs by trying to bribe the businessman housing the container, yet the court, through the empaneled 12-man jury, said such brazen evidence didn't warrant a guilty verdict. What more can the joint security and the Justice Ministry do to convince the court that the law was broken?" he worried.
Subsequently, the Ministry filed its Bill of Information.
On May 29, Justice in Chambers Yamie Q. Gbeisaye, following a conference on the Bill of Information filed by the Ministry of Justice, issued a mandate to Criminal Court "C" Judge Blamo Dixon to proceed with his not guilty ruling in accordance with the law.
On June 1, Judge Gbeisaye resumed jurisdiction over the matter and immediately ordered the Ministry of Justice to bring the total amount of US$113,045 to the court on June 13 for onward transmission to the informants (fourth defendant) through their legal counsels.
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The court noted that the Ministry was given 12 days to bring the said amount to the court, as it was sufficient time for the Ministry of Justice to make a withdrawal from the Central Bank of Liberia since the evidence showed that the amount was deposited in that bank.
However, despite the given time, the court stated that the Ministry of Justice made no efforts within the allotted time to retrieve the money from the CBL.
Furthermore, the court mentioned that the amount, which was confiscated by state security from the Ministry of Justice, was made known before the court on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, stating that it was seized from co-defendant Malaam Conte and deposited at the CBL in the National Joint Security escrow account.
