FREETOWN – Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, has raised an alarm that Sierra Leone’s ports, territorial waters, and border security architecture may have been compromised by international drug cartels, citing the recent interception of a heavily armed cocaine-laden vessel that departed from Freetown.
In an open letter to President Julius Maada Bio dated 10th May 2026, Kargbo warned that the growing frequency of international drug trafficking incidents linked to Sierra Leone now poses a serious threat to the nation’s image, diplomatic standing, internal security, and economic prospects.
The opposition leader pointed to the interception by Spanish authorities of the vessel MV Arconian, which was reportedly carrying more than 30 tonnes of cocaine after departing from Freetown on 22nd April 2026, allegedly en route to Libya, according to international media reports including El País.
Even more alarming, Kargbo wrote, Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska disclosed during an official press conference that Spanish authorities discovered a hidden arsenal onboard the vessel, including automatic rifles, tactical pistols, ammunition, and heavily armed security personnel assigned to protect the cocaine shipment.
“The presence of such sophisticated weaponry aboard a vessel that had recently departed from Freetown raises grave national security concerns for Sierra Leone,” Kargbo stated in the letter. He added that the fact a heavily armed vessel allegedly connected to international organized crime networks was able to depart Sierra Leonean territory undetected creates serious fears about the porousness of the country’s national security framework.
The Spanish Interior Minister publicly linked the operation to the notorious Dutch-Moroccan “Mocro Mafia” criminal organization, a network repeatedly associated by European investigators with fugitive drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, also known as “Bolle Jos,” whose prolonged presence in Sierra Leone has already generated international embarrassment and concern, Kargbo noted.
The opposition leader warned that Sierra Leone’s concerns are not limited to maritime trafficking alone. He cited the interception of a Sierra Leone embassy vehicle in Guinea carrying seven suitcases containing substances suspected to be cocaine, which prompted the recall of Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Guinea for questioning. He also mentioned multiple recent airport interceptions involving passengers travelling from Sierra Leone in Hong Kong, India, and Sri Lanka.
Kargbo further warned that Sierra Leone’s synthetic drug crisis, particularly the spread of ‘Kush’, has now emerged onto the international stage, with reports from Sri Lanka and other jurisdictions referencing Sierra Leone as one of the epicentres of the dangerous drug epidemic devastating the country’s youth.
Speaking from personal experience, Kargbo revealed that his own nephew had dropped out of Milton Margai University and now lives under a bridge in Aberdeen due to drug addiction. “This experience has deeply affected me and it shows that none of our families are immune from this self-inflicted menace,” he wrote.
Kargbo accused the government of silence and reluctance to aggressively confront these allegations. “The prolonged silence and apparent hesitation by the Government of Sierra Leone in responding firmly and transparently to these matters is creating a dangerous international perception of either indifference, weakness, or worse, complicity,” he stated.
He warned that Sierra Leone risks becoming internationally categorized as a narco-transit state or, even more dangerously, a narco-state, which would have devastating consequences for foreign direct investment, international banking relationships, security cooperation, visa policies affecting Sierra Leoneans, trade, tourism, diplomatic credibility, and international development partnerships.
“History teaches us that nations do not become narco-states overnight,” Kargbo wrote. “It happens gradually through silence, institutional compromise, political protection, corruption, and the normalization of criminal infiltration into public life. Sierra Leone must not travel down that road.”
He urged President Bio to act immediately and decisively before irreversible damage is done to the image and future of the country. The letter was copied to the Speaker of Parliament, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the Inspector General of Police, and several other senior officials.
