Former Liberian Vice-President Jewel Howard-Taylor Faces Drug Trafficking Charges
Liberian authorities link the former VP to a major drug trafficking operation and recent cocaine seizure
- Jewel Howard-Taylor detained at Monrovia airport amid drug trafficking investigation.
- Authorities connect her to a $317 million cocaine seizure last month.
- The former Vice-President has not yet commented on the allegations.
Liberia has officially charged former Vice-President Jewel Howard-Taylor with drug trafficking, money laundering, and several other criminal offenses amid an investigation into a suspected transnational narcotics network.
Howard-Taylor was detained on Wednesday at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, just before she was scheduled to board a flight, according to the country’s justice ministry.
Police Chief Gregory Coleman has connected her to the recent seizure of cocaine valued at approximately $317 million (£233 million) last month.
The 63-year-old politician has yet to respond publicly to the allegations. Her lawyer told the BBC that he could not comment further until Howard-Taylor is formally charged in court.
Howard-Taylor’s political career began after her ex-husband, former President Charles Taylor, stepped down from power. Charles Taylor, a former rebel leader, was elected Liberia’s president in 1997 and served until 2003.
He was later convicted by a UN-backed tribunal for aiding rebels during the Sierra Leone Civil War from 1991 to 2002, a conflict that resulted in around 50,000 deaths.
