Claim: The new zombie drug in Liberia was brought into the country by President Boakai Son.
Verdict: Misleading, as there is no record that President Boakai’s son brought the zombie into the country.
Full Text: The Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), through its director general, AB Kromah, announced the discovery of new illicit drugs in Liberia during a news conference on May 5, 2024.
Kromah reported that the Tranquilizer or “Zombie” drugs were confiscated during the raid in Red Light, Paynesville, and Miami Beach in Monrovia. The tranquilizer drug is used to restrict the behavior of wild animals.
Information about the discovery of the zombie substance can also be found here, here, and here.
Following the disclosure of the information by the LDEA, an online platform named The Daily News linked Tamba Boakai, son of the President, to the importation of the drug into the country.
The full claim: “Breaking News! Huge quantity of new breed of drug in Liberia known as Zombie was brought into the Country over the weekend by the son of the President Tamba Boakai who goes by the stage name Tan Tan. Our source said that Zombie drugs is dangerous than Kush. We need to start praying for our brothers and sisters.”
The post was also seen here on Liberian Influence a social media blog. Tamba Boakai (TanTan) is an artist and the chief executive officer of Heartbeat Record. He is the second son of Liberia’s President, Joseph Boakai.
Verification: We contacted the LDEA communication director, Michael Jipply, who said the president’s son’s involvement in the latest drug discovery is misleading.
According to Jipply, the agency was unable to identify the main owner of the drug in question as all of those arrested at the scene denied having anything to do with the drug or even seeing it before.
“The fact that it became clear that those drugs were confiscated from the premises of Miami’s Beach and that those arrested were also from there, we equally charged all of those arrested from the scene with the commission of crime as contained in the 2023 Drug Law,” he said.
“In the first place, the drug in question (Zombie), scientifically known as Tranquilizer, is not a prevalent drug in our country, as wildly reported by folks who covered our last Friday press conference when my boss provided the information.”
He explains that the discovery of the drug by the LDEA is the first of its kind, though likely to be found somewhere. From what we know, it is likely to be found in forest park facilities, where it is sometimes used by zoologists or veterinarians owing to its sedative effect on animal control.
“First, the drug is not known in our local drug market. Following that single arrest, we have not seen nor arrested any such substance anywhere across this country. If it is available anywhere other than forest parks, it is something that we are making an effort to discover. And to that effect, we have already deployed our intelligence and operational mechanisms to ensure further discoveries.”
He further “A few weeks ago, the LDEA, following an Intel, staged a random ghetto raid along the famous Miami Beach facility in Mamba Point, Monrovia.”
According to Jipply, during that exercise, the LDEA arrested at least four suspects and confiscated several narcotics, substances, and other contraband, while several other suspects absconded the scene after a violent attack ensued between the LDEA and thugs believed to be supporters of a criminal gang at Miami Beach.
“The drug in question was later discovered among several other substances that were confiscated during the raid.”
Interestingly, we also arrested suspect Peach Bility, owner and operator of Miami’s Beach, on whose order those thugs had to attack officers of the LDEA, leaving one of our men severely brutalized to near death.
He disclosed that the LDEA also searched and discovered huge amounts of narcotics, including firearms, from the vehicle of suspect Peach Bility after he was arrested along with his vehicle at the scene.
Following that incident, they were all investigated, charged, and forwarded to court for prosecution. And, following a careful examination and conclusion, we thought it important to inform the public about the discovery of the drug, as more is being done to get to the root of it.
“So, the son of the current president has nothing to do with the drug in question, nor was he anywhere around that situation. I think the action of the “Liberia Influence” to malign and besmeared the character of this government is intended to gain political relevance for selfish reasons,” said Jipply.
Conclusion: The information in the daily news is misleading, as there is no information regarding the involvement of the president’s son in importing the drugs into the country.
