Liberia’s former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor spending the night in police detention after being charged in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged $317 million cocaine-trafficking operation, Justice Minister Cllr. Oswald Tweh said.
Howard-Taylor faces eight charges, including the unlicensed importation, distribution and transportation of controlled substances, illicit trafficking, criminal solicitation, criminal facilitation, criminal conspiracy and money laundering, according to Tweh.
Authorities have not publicly explained how Howard-Taylor allegedly committed the offenses or detailed the evidence linking her to the investigation.
The case is reportedly focused on allegations that Howard-Taylor, while in office, helped obtain diplomatic passports for people suspected of involvement in drug trafficking.
Authorities are also considering whether she could become a state witness if an agreement is reached, according to people familiar with the matter.
Howard-Taylor, the former wife of jailed ex-President Charles Taylor, currently leads Liberia’s National Patriotic Party. She was vice president under former President George Weah, whose Coalition for Democratic Change won the 2017 election.
Janga Kowo, national chairman of the opposition CDC, described the charges as harassment and intimidation. In a Facebook post early Wednesday, he accused the government of trying to shift blame for alleged official involvement in the cocaine case.
“Harassment of former Vice President H.E. Jewel Howard-Taylor won’t help the government,” Kowo wrote, adding that there would be “full accountability” for government officials involved in the case.
The investigation has already led to the dismissal or suspension of several government security officials. Howard-Taylor has not publicly commented on the charges.
