Hooked!!

“Investigations are continuing as security agencies work with international partners to determine the vessel’s origin, intended destination, and any possible links to organized transnational criminal networks,” –Min. Piah

 Joint security has confirmed the arrest of three individuals, among them, a dismissed RIA employee.

The latest arrest came as security forces hunts a suspicious vessel, which was spotted near Liberia’s territorial water amid heightened drug trafficking fears that have drenched the country.

Security authorities say, they arrested three individuals, including a dismissed employee of Roberts International Airport (RIA).

The identities of those arrested have not been disclosed, and no formal charges have yet been announced.

Investigations are continuing as security agencies work with international partners to determine the vessel’s origin, intended destination, and any possible links to organized transnational criminal networks.

The arrest is part of an expanding investigation into the suspicious vessel I.B Atlantic (a strange ship), which is alleged to have illegally entered Liberia’s territorial waters before retreating into international waters.

The situation erupted as government seeks international assistance to locate, and investigate the vessel, whose movement heightened security concerns amid the country’s intensified crackdown on transnational cocaine trafficking.

According to authorities, I.B. Atlantic was sighted off the coast of Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County, on Sunday, August 1, after it reportedly arrived from Sierra Leone. Before its arrival, the vessel’s registered Liberian agent contracted authorities, reporting that the ship had suffered engine failure, and was running low on food, and other essential supplies.

Authorities said that when the Coast Guard attempted to render assistance, and establish contact, the vessel unexpectedly withdrew, slowly navigating into deeper waters beyond the operational range of the patrol boats.

The maneuver immediately raised suspicion among security agencies.

Information Minister Jerolinmek M. Piah, disclosed how the three suspects are in security custody, and are being investigated for their alleged connection to the vessel.

Piah revealed how one of those detained is a dismissed employee of RIA, but declined to provide additional details, because the investigation remains active.

Authorities say, the vessel’s brief presence in Liberia’s waters, followed by its sudden retreat, has drawn heightened scrutiny, particularly as the country investigates recent multi-million-dollar cocaine seizures that have reinforced concerns about Liberia being used as a transit point for international narcotics trafficking.

Source: By Victor Quaye