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BY: Boywengar Toee Margibi County Correspondent

KAKATA, MARGIBI COUNTY- Officers of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) in Monrovia and Margibi County have arrest 45-year-old man in Kakata City for allegedly selling prohibited cigarettes.

The suspect, identified as Mathew Good Luck, was apprehended during a routine patrol conducted by the LDEA’s Monrovia and Kakata–Margibi branches across several communities in Kakata.

The patrol team reportedly included a representative from the Joint Security Early Warning Program in Margibi County, as well as officers of the court who were present during the search.

According to LDEA investigators, the arrest took place around 10:00 a.m. along the VIP Road in Kakata, Margibi County. Officers, in collaboration with personnel from the Kakata Magisterial Court, carried out a search at the suspect’s business center.

During the operation, authorities discovered and confiscated 44 grosses and 44 packs of cigarettes labeled “Vente en Guinee,” along with 21 single-borrow rounds (cartouches). The cigarettes are reportedly not authorized for sale in Liberia.

While undergoing investigation at the LDEA headquarters, the suspect allegedly admitted that he began selling the prohibited cigarettes on the 18th of last month and had continued up to the time of his arrest. He told investigators that he usually purchased the cigarettes from unidentified individuals who transported them from Guinea to the Red-Light area in Monrovia. However, he claimed he did not know who imported the products into Liberia.

Mathew Good Luck, a Liberian national of Gio ethnicity, was born in Nimba County.

The LDEA says investigations are ongoing as authorities work to determine the source of the contraband cigarettes and whether others may be connected to the alleged illegal trade.