RIA COCAINE MULE QUITA KOSSO SENTENCED TO 5 YEARS AFTER PLEA DEAL: MARGIBI COURT DELIVERS FIRST MAJOR CONVICTION AS LIBERIA CRACKS DOWN ON $19M AIRPORT DRUG TRAFFICKING RING
By: Abraham K. Kollie, kollieabraham23@gmail.com
MARGIBI COUNTY, Liberia— As the crackdown on narcotic drugs intensifies in Liberia, a woman, who was caught with cocaine in her luggage at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) few months ago, has been sentenced to five years in prison by the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Kakata, Margibi County.
Madam Quita Dolo Kosso was sentenced to five years in prison by Her Honor Worlobah Victoria Duncan, Resident Judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Margibi County after a period of trial.
The woman was earlier arrested at the RIA in July last year (2025) with 3.3 kilograms of cocaine in her luggage by an officer of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), Abdullai Sheriff.
The New Drugs Law, which came into force in July 2023, provides penalties for specified offenses such as the unlicensed and unauthorized importation of controlled drugs or substances into the country.
It termed the importation of controlled drugs, a felony of the first degree and punishable to a prison term of a minimum of ten years and not exceeding twenty years, consistent with provisions of the Penal Code Section 50.5 and 50.6.
It says narcotic drugs offense shall be a grave offense and shall not be bailable.
The sentence, delivered in open court recently follows a plea bargaining agreement that concluded one of the most inclusive phases of the high-profile Roberts International Airport (RIA) drug trafficking case.
Kosso, a key defendant in the multi-defendant trial, formally pleaded guilty to all charges brought against her by the Republic of Liberia, explicitly admitting her role in the logistics and execution of the illicit drug operation.
Her guilty plea stands as a decisive admission of culpability in an enterprise that saw a massive quantity of narcotics intercepted at the country’s primary international gateway.
The plea agreement, meticulously negotiated between state prosecutors and the defense, obviated the need for a protracted trial.
Judge Duncan, after a rigorous review of the agreement’s terms and a thorough voir dire to confirm that Kosso’s plea was entered voluntarily, intelligently, and without coercion, formally accepted the disposition.
Under the stringent provisions of Liberia’s Drug Law, the offense carries a mandatory sentence of ten to twenty years.
However, citing Kosso’s enhanced cooperation with investigators and the binding terms of the plea arrangement, the Court handed down a sentence of five years, to be served at the Kakata Central Prison Facility.
This sentencing marks a major victory for the Ministry of Justice, which has consistently vowed to aggressively prosecute narcotics offenses as a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to dismantle organized crime and combat transnational drug trafficking.
The case originated from a dramatic seizure of illegal narcotics at RIA, which triggered a sweeping investigation and resulted in the arrest and charging of multiple individuals.
With Madam Kosso’s conviction secured and her sentence executed, the judicial spotlight now pivots to the remaining defendants.
Their legal proceedings are ongoing, and observers anticipate a renewed vigor in the prosecution’s strategy following this successful plea conclusion.
The RIA drug trafficking case has captivated national attention, serving as a stark indicator of the scale of the narcotics threat facing Liberia and the judiciary’s resolve to confront it head-on.