MONROVIA — Liberia’s widening US$19 million cocaine investigation took another dramatic turn this week after a voluntary statement made by one of the government’s designated persons of interest appeared to place the origin of the controversial shipment at the residence of businessman Paul King.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh
Archie Nyanfor, who has been questioned by investigators, stated that he and Emmanuel Zeon were instructed by their employer, Arthur B. Abdullai, to collect six boxes of cargo from Paul King’s residence on the VP Road for shipment.
“On Friday, June 5, 2026, my boss Arthur B. Abdullai instructed me and Emmanuel Zeon to take six boxes of cargo from Paul King’s house on the VP Road to be shipped,” Nyanfor said in a voluntary statement.
According to Nyanfor, Zeon transported the cargo to the GLS NAS warehouse at Roberts International Airport, where the shipment reportedly encountered difficulties because of a discrepancy in its recorded weight.
He stated that the cargo was later subjected to a physical inspection by airport security personnel.
“Emmanuel Zeon called me and informed me that drugs were found in the cargo. I informed my boss Arthur Abdullai, and he said, ‘Let them call Paul King because he is the shipper.’ We did not know what was in the cargo when he sent us,” Nyanfor stated.
The statement is expected to form part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the US$19 million cocaine seizure, one of the largest drug cases in Liberia’s history.
Abdullai Maintains He Did Not Know Contents
Arthur B. Abdullai has denied knowledge of the contents of the cargo.
In an audio recording reportedly made during questioning by investigators, Abdullai allegedly stated that he did not know the shipment contained illegal drugs.
His family has also publicly defended him.
His son, Andy Barmolee Abdullai, recently stated that his father merely facilitated the transportation of the cargo and instructed that it be taken to Roberts International Airport for scanning and inspection.
According to Andy Abdullai, the shipment was examined by airport personnel, leading to the discovery of suspected narcotics.
“The Liberian public deserves reporting that is truthful, balanced, and based on verified facts,” he said in a previous statement.
He also criticized Activist Martin Kollie what he described as selective reporting and maintained that his father had no knowledge of the contents of the shipment.
Kollie Escalates Allegations
The controversy surrounding Abdullai intensified after activist Martin Kollie publicly alleged that Abdullai had been involved in collecting cargo from the residences of Paul King and Peter King.
Kollie argued that the admission that Abdullai collected the boxes placed him at the center of the chain of custody surrounding the shipment.
The activist further released allegations from unnamed sources who claimed that Abdullai had longstanding connections within Liberia’s logistics and cargo sector.
However, many of those allegations have not been independently verified, and no evidence has been publicly produced to support several of the claims circulating on social media.
Legal experts caution that social media allegations and anonymous accusations should not be treated as evidence and must be independently verified by investigators.
Named in 2011 UN Report
Meanwhile, a FrontPage Africa review of United Nations records has found that Abdullai was mentioned in a 2011 report by the United Nations Panel of Experts on Liberia.
The report, submitted pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1961 (2010), examined potential violations of arms embargoes and sanctions involving individuals linked to Liberia’s civil conflict and instability in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire.
The report identified Abdullai as the manager and majority shareholder of Air Services Incorporated, an aviation and cargo company whose activities came under review during the Panel’s investigation into sanctioned businessman Randolph Cooper.
“The manager of the company is named as Arthur B. Aboullai, Jr.,” the report stated, noting that company identification documents spelled the name as Arthur B. Abdullai.
According to the report, Abdullai owned 80 percent of the company’s shares and served as its General Manager and Chief Executive Officer.
However, the UN report does not accuse Abdullai of violating sanctions, participating in arms trafficking, or engaging in criminal activities.
Investigators noted that the ownership and operational relationships among certain aviation-related companies remained unclear.
“The exact ownership and control over Liberia Travel Services and Air Services Incorporated remain opaque,” the report stated.
Pressure Mounts
The Ministry of Justice has identified several individuals as persons of interest in the US$19 million cocaine investigation, although no formal criminal charges have yet been announced against many of the individuals whose names have surfaced publicly.
The emergence of Nyanfor’s statement, the continuing public dispute between Abdullai’s family and activist Martin Kollie, and the resurfacing of historical UN records are expected to intensify calls for investigators to clarify who authorized the shipment, who handled the cargo, and who ultimately bears responsibility for the massive cocaine seizure.
As public pressure mounts, attention is increasingly shifting from persons of interest to whether prosecutors will eventually elevate some of those individuals to criminal suspects.
