At least 40 members of the House of Representatives of the 55th Legislature have signed and adopted resolution urging President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to temporarily suspend the operations of GLS Menzies Aviation Cargo Services and Express Handling Services (EHS) at Roberts International Airport (RIA), pending the outcome of an ongoing narcotics investigation linked to an alleged breach in the airport's air cargo handling chain of custody.
The resolution, No. 001/2026, follows a motion introduced by Representative James Kolleh, citing the interception of approximately 233 kilograms of cocaine, valued at about US$19.2 million, as the basis for urgent legislative intervention and heightened executive scrutiny of Liberia's cargo security and air freight logistics ecosystem.
Lawmakers argue that the scale of the alleged drug seizure requires immediate intervention to safeguard national security, protect institutional integrity, and restore public confidence in Liberia's air cargo handling and freight forwarding operations.
They emphasized that the case points to possible vulnerabilities across key nodes of the end-to-end cargo supply chain, including air cargo screening and X-ray inspection systems, freight consolidation and cargo build-up/breakdown processes, cargo manifest verification, reconciliation, and audit trails, and chain-of-custody controls across airside, landside, and warehouse interfaces.
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GLS Menzies is a Liberian joint-venture cargo-handling operator formed between GLS Group and global aviation services provider Menzies Aviation. The company manages core air cargo terminal and ground handling operations at RIA, including import and export cargo handling operations, Unit Load Device build-up, breakdown, and palletization services, bonded warehouse management and secure cargo storage, and freight forwarding coordination and documentation processing. Others include cargo acceptance, weighing, and airway bill (AWB) processing and customs clearance facilitation and cargo release coordination.
Its operations extend to the Roberts Air Cargo Centre and associated logistics infrastructure supporting key sectors such as mining, agriculture, oil and gas, and general commercial air freight.
However, the company has come under intensified scrutiny following the alleged discovery of a large cocaine consignment within a warehouse linked to its cargo terminal network, triggering a nationwide cargo security compliance and enforcement investigation.
Under the resolution, lawmakers are urging the Executive Branch to temporarily suspend operations of the implicated entities to allow investigators full access to critical cargo documentation systems and logistics control records, including cargo manifests and Air Waybill (AWB) tracking records, import/export declarations and shipment traceability logs, security screening reports and secondary inspection records, warehouse inventory systems and bonded cargo registers, and customs release authorizations and cargo clearance documentation.
They argue that such measures are necessary to ensure cargo traceability integrity, preserve evidentiary value, and prevent interference with the ongoing chain-of-custody investigation process.
During plenary deliberations, lawmakers raised concerns about potential weaknesses in Liberia's air cargo security architecture, including cargo screening compliance and secondary inspection protocols, freight acceptance procedures at cargo terminals, cargo reconciliation between ground handlers, customs, and regulators, oversight of concessionaire-operated cargo facilities, and risk management frameworks within cargo terminal operations.
Representative James Kolleh stressed that the Legislature has a constitutional responsibility to exercise oversight over public concessions and critical infrastructure, particularly where national security and transnational organized crime risks are involved.
"The seriousness of these allegations requires immediate and coordinated action. No institution operating within our borders can be exempt from accountability when issues of this magnitude arise," he stated.
The House is also calling for a comprehensive audit of RIA's cargo handling ecosystem, including end-to-end cargo flow mapping (airside to landside logistics chain), cargo security risk assessment and mitigation frameworks, digital freight tracking and cargo management systems, compliance with international air cargo security standards (TSA/IATA-aligned procedures), and operational responsibilities and accountability of all cargo terminal service providers.
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Lawmakers maintain that allowing continued operations during an active investigation could undermine cargo system integrity, weaken regulatory compliance, and damage Liberia's international reputation in combating organized crime and illicit air freight trafficking.
The resolution has been transmitted to the Executive Mansion for consideration. While advisory in nature, lawmakers are urging swift executive action as the Joint National Security Task Force continues its investigation into the alleged breach within Liberia's air cargo handling and freight logistics network at Roberts International Airport.
Further updates are expected as authorities expand their review of cargo terminal operations, warehouse security controls, and customs-cargo interface systems
