Omanghana
Liberia’s former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has been arrested and charged in connection with an investigation into an alleged transnational narcotics-trafficking network.
Howard-Taylor, who served under former President George Weah from 2018 to 2024, was stopped at Roberts International Airport while attempting to leave Liberia. She was subsequently taken to the Liberia National Police headquarters in Monrovia, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Authorities have charged her with drug trafficking, money laundering, criminal solicitation, criminal facilitation and criminal conspiracy. Other allegations include the unlicensed importation, sale, distribution and transportation of controlled substances.
The accusations remain allegations and will be determined through the legal process. Howard-Taylor had not publicly responded to the charges at the time of the initial announcement.
Her lawyer, former Supreme Court Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, confirmed that she was being held at police headquarters. The defiance team indicated that it would issue a formal response after receiving and reviewing the complete indictment.
Liberian prosecutors have also charged three foreign nationals in absentia over their alleged involvement in the suspected network. They were identified as Croatian citizens Nikolai Ivancic and Mihovil Vrovac and Ukrainian national Tara Zaderieko.
Authorities said measures would be taken through domestic and international law-enforcement channels to locate and apprehend the three suspects.
The case comes amid an intensified campaign against drug trafficking under President Joseph Boakai’s administration. Liberia has recently recorded several major cocaine seizures as concerns grow about West Africa’s use as a transit route for drugs moving from South America to Europe.
However, authorities have said Howard-Taylor’s case is separate from Liberia’s record cocaine seizure announced in July 2026, which involved several tones of the drug and allegations against senior police officials.
The government has pledged to pursue organizers, financiers and facilitators of narcotics networks while ensuring that investigations and prosecutions comply with the rule of law.
Source: Omanghana
