Can Ziankahn Clean Up Liberia’s Drug Enforcement Agency

By Seltue Robert Karweaye Sr.

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr.’s decision to nominate Major General (Retired) Daniel Dee Ziankahn, Jr. as Director General of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) comes at one of the most consequential moments in Liberia’s national-security history. The appointment must therefore be judged by more than the reputation of the nominee. It must be judged by whether it represents a genuine effort to dismantle the networks that have allowed international drug trafficking to penetrate Liberia’s security institutions.

Major General Ziankahn brings considerable experience. He previously served as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia and Minister of National Defense and has served in other senior national-security capacities. His military background, institutional experience and understanding of national security make him a potentially credible choice to lead an agency facing an extraordinary crisis.

But credibility alone will not solve Liberia’s drug problem.

The question confronting President Boakai is much bigger: Can the government restore public confidence in an LDEA and broader security establishment that has been severely shaken by successive cocaine seizures and allegations involving security personnel?

In June 2026, authorities intercepted approximately 237 kilograms of cocaine at Roberts International Airport, reportedly worth about US$19 million. That was followed by the seizure of nearly four metric tons—approximately 3,971 kilograms—of cocaine in Duazon, near Monrovia, reportedly valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The scale of these seizures should force Liberia to ask how such enormous quantities of narcotics could enter, transit through, or be stored in the country without significant institutional assistance or serious security failures.

The subsequent dismissal, suspension, recall and investigation of numerous officials across the Liberia National Police, National Security Agency, LDEA, Roberts International Airport and other government institutions only deepened those questions.

The removal of former LDEA Officer-in-Charge Fitzgerald Biago is particularly troubling because the government has not adequately explained to the Liberian people what specific ethical transgressions warranted his indefinite suspension from the Liberia National Police and removal from leadership at the LDEA.

The Ministry of Justice’s review reportedly did not establish his involvement in illegal narcotics trafficking, yet it identified ethical concerns requiring further investigation. That distinction matters. If the government believes an official committed serious ethical violations, the public deserves to know, within the limits of due process and an ongoing investigation, what those violations were and why they warranted such serious administrative action.

Transparency cannot be selective.

President Boakai appointed Biago to lead the LDEA. Therefore, the administration has a responsibility to explain not only why he was removed, but whether the vetting process that placed him in that position was adequate in the first place.

This is why the appointment of General Ziankahn must not become a convenient substitute for institutional accountability.

The Liberian people do not merely need a new LDEA director. They need a new security culture.

That means comprehensive vetting of personnel; credible financial and integrity checks; professional intelligence analysis; stronger airport and port security; effective internal-affairs mechanisms; independent investigations; protection for whistleblowers; regular asset and conflict-of-interest declarations for sensitive security officials; and continuous professional training.

Most importantly, recruitment and promotion within the security sector must be based on competence, integrity, professional qualifications and national interest—not political loyalty, personal relationships or patronage.

Liberia cannot fight sophisticated international drug-trafficking organizations with security institutions weakened by political interference, inadequate vetting and compromised personnel.

The President’s response so far—including the removal of several senior officials—may demonstrate that the administration recognizes the seriousness of the problem. But dismissals alone do not constitute security-sector reform. If individuals are removed without exposing the institutional weaknesses that allowed the problem to develop, Liberia risks repeating the same cycle under different names and faces.

General Ziankahn should therefore be given the opportunity to succeed—but he should also be given a clear mandate that goes beyond arresting drug couriers and conducting seizures.

His mission should include rebuilding the LDEA from the inside out.

He must determine where institutional vulnerabilities exist, identify compromised personnel through professional investigations, strengthen intelligence-led enforcement, improve cooperation among the LDEA, LNP, NSA, airport security, customs and other relevant institutions, and establish systems that make it significantly harder for organized criminal networks to infiltrate the security apparatus.

The Senate, too, has an important responsibility. Confirmation should not be a ceremonial exercise. Senators should rigorously examine General Ziankahn’s qualifications, vision, independence, operational strategy and plans for reforming the LDEA. They should demand measurable objectives and accountability mechanisms.

Liberia is no longer dealing with an ordinary narcotics problem. The quantities involved suggest a potentially sophisticated transnational criminal enterprise with the financial capacity to corrupt institutions and compromise officials.

That is a national-security threat.

President Boakai must therefore answer a fundamental question: Is the appointment of Daniel Ziankahn the beginning of a serious, independent and comprehensive security-sector overhaul—or simply an attempt to restore public confidence after a catastrophic institutional failure?

The answer will not come from the appointment itself. It will come from what happens afterward.

Liberia needs more than new faces at the LDEA. It needs institutions that cannot be bought, compromised or captured by criminals, politicians or powerful interests.

The cocaine seizures should be Liberia’s wake-up call. If the country fails to use this moment to fundamentally reform its security institutions, the next shipment may not be discovered—and the consequences could be far more devastating.

About the author: Seltue Robert Karweaye Sr. is a Liberian policy analyst, security expert, researcher, and prolific commentary writer with interests in governance, public finance, economic development, public policy, and national security. He can be contacted at seltuek@gmail.com.