Huge weapons cache seized at Liberian port
Liberian police say they have seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition at the country’s main port and at a private residence outside the capital, Monrovia.
The weapons found at the port of Monrovia were in boxes stacked inside a shipping container, police Inspector General Patrick Sudue told journalists on Thursday.
“[In] the first few boxes that were searched we discovered some heavy, heavy weapons,” he said.
“We’re talking about military weapons in those boxes.”
The cache includes Omega 15 assault rifles, Rock River LAR guns, and double-barrel automatic machine guns which were displayed to journalists.
He said some of the ammunition found did not have arms to match – and suggested that the guns were either still hidden or could be on the way.
A preliminary investigation has named a Liberian national living in the US as the consignor.
A search in the suspect’s home in the outskirts of Monrovia uncovered a consignment of arms hidden in the ceiling, the police boss said.
He said the Liberian government was considering asking the US to extradite suspect.
The motive of the shipment remains unclear in a country that is still reeling from the impact of civil wars that killed an estimated 250,000 people and ended in 2003.
Liberia’s next general elections are due in 10 October.
By BBC
