Liberia: TRH Violated Custom Procedures

TRH Trading, the company at the center of the US$100million cocaine importation saga, had no Import Permit Declaration (IPD) or an Import Notification form (INF), a defense witness has disclosed. 

The IPD and INF are the key security instruments for shipment in the freight industry. But according  to James Hinneh,  the President of  the Custom Broker Association of Liberia (CBAL), who served as defense fifth witness, TRH Trading  never had these two documents, and as such, the company was acting illegally.

Hinneh, told told Criminal Court ‘C’ that the Ministry of Commerce did not make avalible any notification  or  permit  declaration form, which would have approve that the consignment meet shipment requirement.

 “TRH did not have import permit declaration or the import notification form but was allowed to make the shipment of the cocaine,” the defense witness said May 1.

According to Hinneh, custom brokers are only allowed to review documents from the APM Terminal Asycuda System that carry the name of a customer but “they were denied access to copies of the shipment documents.”

"I saw TRH's custom breach in the asycuda system when I asked to view the company's documentation," Hinneh said. “Besides, the ministry, BAVIC’s report of declaration must be attached to the permit or the notification form, indicating that the consignment is free of any dangerous substances, but with TRH’s container, it did not follow the BAVIC processes.

The U case grew from the government's seizure of US$100 million worth of cocaine in 2022, during which time, a Liberian named Oliver Zayzay, and some of his foreign associates were arrested after seeking to purchase what appeared to be a shipping container full of fresh frozen pig feet from a refrigerated storage facility in Monrovia.

The defendants had initially offered to pay the owners of the container, AJA Group Holdings, (ownwe of TRH Trading) the sum of US$200,000 for the entire container, which, at the time, cost less than US$30,000.

But when the defendants, within less than eight hours, doubled their offer to US$400,000 and, finally, to US$1 million, AJA Group said they were certain that Zayzay and his associates were dealing with a serious case of narcotics trafficking.

The company said they contacted the United States Ambassador, a move that brought both the American and Liberian anti-narcotics law enforcement agents into the picture and caught the suspects red-handed.

Zayzay and the co-accused are being prosecuted on charges of “money laundering, unlicensed possession of controlled drugs, unlicensed importation of controlled drugs, and criminal conspiracy. 

Meanwhile, Hinneh has also disclosed that the Global Maritime Tracking Solution (GMTS) recommendation to the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and the APM Terminals to  physical examine the TRH’s container was overlook.

“No physical examination was conducted on the consignment,” Hinneh disclosed.

Hinneh also noted that other documents including the bill of landing of TRH showed that only pork and chicken feet were in the consignment. 

“It was later discovered that unwanted substances were found in the container,” he said. “While we were unsure as to who put the unwanted substances in the container, we were certain that the import was made by TRH, in cognizant of the process and procedure of import.”

 We were surprised to have noticed TRH’s breach in the normal clearing procedure of said consignment.”

Meanwhile, the trial continues.