Liberia Charges Former Vice-President Jewel Howard-Taylor Over Alleged Drug Network

Liberia has charged former Vice-President Jewel Howard-Taylor with drug trafficking, money laundering and other offences as part of an investigation into an alleged international narcotics network.

Howard-Taylor, 63, was detained on Wednesday at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia while attempting to board a flight, according to Liberia’s Justice Ministry.

Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman linked the former vice-president to the seizure last month of cocaine reportedly worth $317 million (£233 million).

Howard-Taylor has not publicly commented on the allegations. Her lawyer also declined to comment, saying he would not speak on the matter until she was formally arraigned in court.

She is facing several charges, including the unlicensed importation, sale and transportation of controlled drugs, illicit trafficking, criminal solicitation, criminal facilitation and money laundering.

The former vice-president rose to prominence in Liberian politics after the departure of her former husband, Charles Taylor, who served as president from 1997 to 2003.

Charles Taylor, a former rebel leader, was later convicted by a UN-backed tribunal of aiding and abetting rebels during Sierra Leone’s civil war, which lasted from 1991 to 2002.

In 2017, former President George Weah selected Howard-Taylor as his running mate. She served as Liberia’s vice-president between 2018 and 2024.

Three foreign nationals — two Croatians and a Ukrainian — have also been charged in absentia over their alleged links to the same network.

Justice Minister Oswald Tweh said the government would use both domestic and international measures to track down and arrest the suspects.

Liberian authorities stepped up their crackdown on drug trafficking following two major cocaine seizures in June and July. Nearly four tonnes of cocaine believed to have been destined for Europe were seized in July, in what officials described as the largest drug bust in the country’s history.

The investigation has since widened to include senior security officials as authorities work to establish the alleged roles of traffickers, financiers, organisers and individuals accused of providing protection for the operation.

The government vowed that the investigation would not be influenced by political status or connections.

“No office is too high, no political connection is too powerful, no nationality provides immunity, and no individual is beyond the reach of the law,” the government said.