In a video circulated on Facebook on October 16, 2024, Melisa Weefur claimed that officers of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) murdered her son and threw him in the water.
Weefur explained in the video that on October 12, 2024, she left her 22-year-old son (Dennis Smith) at their Old Matida’s residence; surprisingly, she got a call from an unnamed female officer of the LDEA about a raid exercise.
The unfinished building where Dennis was sitting when LDEA officers arrived
Weefur claimed that she had gone to visit the female officer in question, probably to understand what the situation was in the process.
Another officer who she could not identify came in with the information of killing someone who was later discovered to be Weefur’s son.
“LDEA killed my son and threw him in the water. They shifted the entire murder story to drowning. The Liberia National Police viewed the body and stated that my son was killed. An LDEA officer hit his head from the back and blood left his nose,” she stated.
The video attracted 1.7K reactions, 1.8K comments, 1.3K shares, and 402K plays as of this check’s time.
Established in 1998, LDEA is a semi-autonomous agency under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice. It is in charge of enforcing all provisions concerning controlled drugs and substances in an efficient and effective manner.
Verification: To validate the video, we contacted Weefur, the mother of the deceased, who said the video was authentic, thereby confirming the revelation made in the video.
In an October 21, 2024, interview with TSM, Weefur narrated that she left the late Dennis and his sibling’s home and was told that a lady had gone in search of an apartment, and Dennis offered to assist her by identifying some available apartments in the area.
Surprisingly, her late son’s friend came running with his slipper to inform the family that the deceased (Dennis) left in the water.
According to Weefur, Dennis’s junior brother hurriedly called to inform her about the situation with a crying voice, “God does not do that to us.”
Weefur said, “I called a lady from the LDEA office named Nelly, and she sympathized with me. She narrated that another officer said while raiding, someone died. They said that he climbed on a flat top and jumped down, which resulted in his death.”
She furthered that Dennis was a recent graduate of St. Mark High School, Sinkor, and a graduate of Frank S. Foko Vocational School.
“Why will officers see a person drowning and cannot help to save life regardless of the person’s status—drugs or non-drugs dealer?”
Eyewitness Boakai Kromah, present at the scene, told TSM that Dennis and his friends were gathered on the flat roof of an unfinished building near the river. When law enforcement officers arrived, Dennis attempted to escape by jumping into the water but struggled to swim compared to his companions.
Dennis’ friends at their usual spot where they usually gathered to use drugs, not too far from the unfinished building where he drowned
Kromah noted that Dennis and his friends often gathered under a tree to use cannabis (kush) and other substances. “Dennis was a smoker, although his mother might not be aware of his habits,” he added.
Ernest Gray, Dennis’ friend, stated that Dennis and the other individuals were sitting under the tree where drugs were being sold when they were approached by officers.
Gray said he felt overwhelmed by the large number of law enforcement officers.
“As soon as his friends jumped into the water, Dennis followed. The officers began throwing stones while they were in the water. A nearby resident attempted to rescue Dennis but lost sight of him due to the dark and murky water,” Gray explained.
When contacted, Orlind Demey, Public Affairs Director at the Ministry of Justice, stated that Oswald Tweah, Liberia’s Justice Minister, has instructed the Liberia National Police to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
“The police are currently looking into the matter. The boy’s mother has approached the Justice Ministry seeking support for her son. We prefer not to comment further until the police conclude their investigation,” Demey said.
Cecelia Clarke, the Public Relations Officer for the Liberia National Police, did not respond when contacted on November 4, 2024, regarding the investigation by the Police in the tragic incident.
Conclusion: Based on our research, Weefur’s claim that LDEA officers killed her son cannot be proven, especially in the absence of an investigative report from the LNP. However, a TSM investigation discovered from community members that Dennis used cannabis (kush) and other substances, contradicting his mother’s claim in the live video that her son did not use drugs.
