Former Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor is accused of alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking ring, in a case that has come to light amid intensified efforts by the country’s authorities to combat the drug trade.
Howard Taylor, 63, who served as Vice President from 2018 to 2024, was arrested at Roberts International Airport, near Monrovia, as she was preparing to leave the country, according to a statement from the Ministry of Justice. She was then taken to police headquarters.
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Charges were filed against her yesterday, Wednesday, in connection with an investigation into an alleged drug trafficking ring, which is said to operate both inside and outside Liberia. Among other things, she is charged with the illegal importation, sale, distribution, and transportation of controlled substances, drug trafficking, criminal conspiracy, and money laundering.
Three other individuals—two Croatians and one Ukrainian—are also charged in absentia in the same case and are being sought by the authorities. The Liberian government stated that it will seek their arrest through national and international legal proceedings.
Howard Taylor is the ex-wife of former warlord and Liberian President Charles Taylor, who was convicted of war crimes committed in Sierra Leone. Before assuming the vice presidency following George Weah’s election victory, she had served as a senator from 2006 to 2018 and was considered a highly influential political figure.
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The case has come to light at a time when the government of President Joseph Newma Boakai is attempting to intensify the fight against drug trafficking, following a series of major seizures.
On August 10, the President appointed a new head of the Liberian Drug Enforcement Agency, who immediately assumed his duties, although his appointment has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
The decision followed a meeting of security agencies regarding recent seizures, including nearly four metric tons of cocaine, with an estimated value of $317 million, approximately 276 million euros. This is the largest quantity of drugs ever seized in Liberia’s history. The cocaine was discovered during an operation on a road leading to Roberts Airport, about 30 kilometers from Monrovia.
This followed the seizure on June 7 of 237.6 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated value of $19 million, which had been hidden in a shipment of goods intended for export that was also being transported to Roberts Airport.
In late July, President Boakai had also dismissed more than ten public officials and ordered investigations into their conduct, in the wake of the major drug seizures.
SOURCE: CNA
