This infighting reached its peak on Monday when a violent altercation erupted between Mr. Kromah and Fadiga, leading to the prompt intervention of Gregory Coleman, the Inspector General of the Liberia National Police, before the situation was brought under control.

Addressing a press conference after the altercation, Kromah admitted the unhealthy relationship with his deputies and called for a meeting with the President to find a solution. “The mixture is not a good mixture. Basically, we have to sit down with the leader to see if we can find a way out of this quagmire because Liberians are dying, kids are dying. We have to find a way to protect them and support them,” he said.

He added, “The director of Police had to come because I called him up. I called him because Fadiga was brandishing a weapon and we had to disarm him. We took the gun from him, and Gbawou Kowou left and went to his office.”

Kromah mentioned that after his appointment, President Boakai gave him the leverage to recommend those he trusted and found capable to serve as his principal deputies. He then recommended Fadiga and Kowou. However, it now appears that his recommendations were wrong.

Attempts to reach Fadiga and Kowou did not materialize. FrontPageAfrica gathered that they were taken to the police headquarters by Inspector General Coleman. When contacted, Police Spokesperson Cecelia Clarke did not respond in time for publication.

The LDEA continues to be engulfed by infighting and tussles over supremacy. Kromah and Fadiga often disagree publicly, with some of these disagreements spilling over to loyal staff of each party, making the LDEA a toxic environment for staff. On Monday, April 15, Fadiga walked out of a meeting Kromah had convened with the agency’s staff, stating he did not want to hear what Kromah was talking about.

Sources informed FrontPageAfrica that Kromah was expressing his displeasure with how Fadiga was bent on taking unilateral decisions without his approval. As Fadiga was walking out of the meeting, Kromah reportedly stated that Fadiga was setting a bad example by disrespecting him in front of junior officers and should not expect those junior officers to respect him (Fadiga).

On Monday, Fadiga took to his Facebook page to denounce the LDEA’s pronouncement about the presence of a “Zombie Drug” in Liberia. He wrote, “We have received several calls regarding the existence of ‘Zombie Drug’ in our country. As Deputy Director General of Operations for the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), we want to emphatically state that there is no evidence whatsoever to support these claims.”

He added: “We want to assure the public and our international partners that these claims are unsubstantiated. Our team at the LDEA has thoroughly investigated these allegations and found no credible information or evidence to support the existence of the ‘Zombie Drug’ in Liberia.”

Responding to Fadiga’s statements, Kromah maintained that the Zombie Drug is indeed present in Liberia and affects its victims severely. He invited a lab specialist who confirmed that the illicit drug had been tested and is in Liberia. Kromah mentioned that several interventions had been made by top government officials, including the office of the President and the Minister of Justice, but the infighting continues.

He said, “I thought that professionally it would be handled. If you have a disagreement, you come to me, we sit down. I have had several disagreements before. We have to go to the Senate, we have to go to the president’s office. They want us to work it out. I decided to work it out. I decided to even suppress and reduce my height to deal with the two guys that I personally – and this is regrettable, that I personally introduced for appointment.”

Continuing, he added, “But that’s what happens in life. In life, you face your calamity, and you make your bed, you have to sleep in it, and that’s what I am doing. I thought that we could get along, we could have them correct some of the shortcomings… Because this is all about fighting drugs. Our people are dying. We have to put up a posture that will address the issue of drugs.”

Despite the infighting, the LDEA continues to intensify its fight against drugs. Prior to the melee at their headquarters, the agency arrested several drug traffickers, including a Sierra Leonean national accused of importing illicit drugs from Sierra Leone and sending them to the southeastern county of River Gee. Kromah said the latest drug seized from him was worth L$3 million Liberian dollars. He credited the arrest to a coordinated effort, thanks to additional skills acquired from regional training on combating drugs held in Senegal.