Justice Ministry Denies Attorney General’s Link To Drug Cartel

The Ministry of Justice has denied recent social media posts from Martin K. N. Kollie, which ‘falsely’ alleged that the official vehicle used by Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh, bearing government plate 0-13, is a gift from drug cartels facilitated by the Inspector General of the Liberia National Police (LNP).  The Ministry has firmly rejected these claims as baseless and devoid of factual support. Since the current administration took office, the Government of Liberia said it has prioritized the mobility of law enforcement agencies, including the Liberia National Police, Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, Liberia Immigration Service, and Liberia National Fire Service. In a press statement issued over the weekend, the Ministry said it inherited a limited number of aging vehicles, forcing some senior officials to rely on personal vehicles while others depended on old government vehicles prone to frequent breakdowns. The Statement further noted that in light of this situation, and with no budget allocated for a new vehicle for the Minister at that time, the Ministry formally requested the Inspector General of Police on November 10, 2025, to assign a suitable vehicle for the Minister’s official use. Subsequently, the LNP reportedly assigned a white Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, marked GSA-LNP-03-14, from a fleet procured by the Government of Liberia from Dutch Health BV for the LNP. This fleet, valued at $1.5 million, included pickups, jeeps, motorbikes, and ambulances, comprising ten units of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.  “As such, the vehicle assigned to the Minister is government property, purchased with public funds and allocated through an agency under the Ministry of Justice. It was neither purchased for nor presented by a drug cartel, alleged cartel member, private individual, or criminal suspect,” the release noted.  The released therefore stated that the vehicle is exclusively used for the Minister’s official duties, adding that the vehicle is not a personal gift from the Inspector General. “It is implausible to suggest that after the Ministry’s request, the IG would have secured funds from a drug cartel to purchase the vehicle, subsequently taking it to the General Services Agency (GSA) for official government marking before handing it over to the Minister.”  According to the release, this is not the first instance in which an LNP vehicle has been assigned for use within the Ministry. Other officials have similarly utilized LNP-marked government vehicles, including those assigned during previous administrations. The released urged the public to exercise caution when considering social media “revelations” as established facts; adding, “Individual commentators do not determine the truth, and information from unnamed sources can be incomplete, inaccurate, or intentionally misleading. Such claims should undergo proper verification before being presented to the public as fact.”