GLS Operations Manager Forwarded to Court for RIA Cocaine Trafficking Case

MONROVIA — The Ministry of Justice’s Special Investigation Team has formally charged Bellamaal (Paul Jamaal) King, operations manager of Global Logistics Services, in connection with the attempted export of a large consignment of suspected cocaine through Roberts International Airport, calling the alleged operation part of an organized transnational drug trafficking network.

According to a police charge sheet dated July 6, 2026, King, a Liberian national living on VP Road Community in Montserrado County, faces multiple charges under Liberia’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Penal Law.

The charges include importation of controlled drugs without a license, exportation of controlled drugs, unlicensed sale, trading, transportation and possession of controlled substances, illicit trafficking, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation and criminal solicitation.

Investigators also named several alleged accomplices who remain at large, including Michael U.S. Browne, also known as Rahim Bah or Polo Bab, along with Usman Ali, Oscar Brown, Emmanuel Kpah and other unidentified individuals believed to have taken part in the alleged trafficking network.

The charge sheet alleges that on June 5, King, acting in his capacity as GLS operations manager, contacted Arthur B. Abdullai, general manager of Express Handling Services, through WhatsApp and requested that air shipment documentation be prepared for six boxes intended for export.

Investigators say the six boxes were taken to Roberts International Airport for shipment aboard a Brussels Airlines flight bound for Europe.

During routine processing by GLS Menzies personnel, workers reportedly found inconsistencies between the weight listed on the air waybill and the actual weight of the cargo. The shipment was then referred to airport security for mandatory X-ray screening.

According to the investigation, airport security officer Ruth Gbapaywhea observed suspicious dark and blurry images during the X-ray examination that did not match the cargo’s declared contents. She reported her findings to airport security officials, who ordered the shipment isolated for further inspection rather than loaded onto the scheduled flight. Because revised shipping documentation arrived after the flight’s deadline, the cargo remained at the airport pending additional examination.

On June 7, airport security officers, working with GLS Menzies representatives, carried out a physical inspection of the shipment. Investigators allege that immediately after opening the first of the six boxes, officers found a white powdery substance suspected to be cocaine. The discovery prompted officials to halt the inspection and notify senior airport authorities and logistics company management.

The charge sheet states that photographs of the suspected narcotics were sent to King through Philip Yeoh Jr. of GLS Menzies. Investigators allege King instructed Yeoh to engage airport security in an effort to secure the shipment’s release despite the discovery. Authorities further claim King sent Yeoh two mobile phone numbers identifying the alleged owner of the cargo before later admitting during questioning that he deleted those numbers from their WhatsApp conversation.

The investigation further alleges that although King was outside Liberia at the time, he instructed his housemaid, Marie Gardea, to release US$2,150 and the six boxes to Arthur Nyafor, who, along with Emmanuel Zeon, transported the shipment to Roberts International Airport for export. Investigators say Zeon personally delivered the cargo to GLS Menzies for processing before it entered the airport’s cargo handling system.

The Special Investigation Team says evidence gathered during the investigation, including witness testimony, digital communications and the seizure of the suspected cocaine, indicates the operation followed methods commonly associated with organized international narcotics trafficking. Investigators allege that Global Logistics Services, acting through King, facilitated the attempted export of narcotics to Europe by concealing the identities of the shipment’s actual owners and coordinating with what the charge sheet describes as bogus companies and criminal cartels.

The investigation references alleged links to entities identified as Mr. Bah Group of Companies, EMRE Venn Group of Companies and Aisha Group of Companies, which authorities claim were used to move the illicit drugs. The Ministry of Justice contends that King and his alleged co-conspirators coordinated the transportation, concealment, financing and attempted export of narcotics using commercial air transportation.

King was arrested July 4 by Deputy Commissioner of Police Raffell A. Wilson. The case is expected to proceed before the appropriate court, where prosecutors will seek to prove the allegations contained in the charge sheet.

Under Liberian law, the filing of criminal charges represents allegations by the prosecution. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of competent jurisdiction.