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 transnational narcotics network.
Howard-Taylor served as vice-president under former
President George Weah from January 2018 to January 2024.
She is the ex-wife of Charles Taylor, the convicted war
criminal and former president of Liberia.
The charges come less than a month after Liberian authorities announced
the seizure of around $317 million worth of cocaine bound for Europe,
described as the country’s largest drug bust.
In June, authorities intercepted about 237.6 kilograms of
cocaine at Roberts International Airport in Monrovia, valued at more than $19
million, and launched a joint national security investigation into the shipment
and its possible links to organised criminal networks.
According to the justice ministry, the former vice-president
was detained on Wednesday while attempting to leave Liberia through Roberts
International Airport and was taken to the police headquarters.
“There will be no selective justice, political protection,
sacred cows or compromise with
organized criminality,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Every person against whom credible and admissible evidence
is established will be investigated and prosecuted without fear, favor or
political consideration.”
Meanwhile, authorities have also charged three alleged members of the network in
absentia — two Croatian nationals and a Ukrainian
national.
The statement said the government would seek their arrest
through domestic and international
legal channels.
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