Liberia charges ex-Vice President Howard-Taylor in $317M cocaine case
What's new: Police detained Jewel Howard-Taylor at Roberts airport and also charged three foreign suspects in absentia.
Liberian authorities charged former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor with drug trafficking, money laundering and related offenses in a probe tied to a transnational narcotics network and a $317 million cocaine seizure last month. Officials detained Howard-Taylor on Wednesday at Roberts International Airport near Monrovia before she could board a flight. The case also names three suspects charged in absentia: two Croatian nationals and one Ukrainian national. Howard-Taylor, who served under former President George Weah from 2018 to 2024, also faces counts including unlicensed importation of a controlled substance, criminal solicitation and conspiracy. The investigation comes as Liberia steps up a crackdown on cocaine trafficking through West Africa en route to Europe.