Liberian court issues warrants for 20 people in $317 million cocaine case
Former vice president Jewel Howard-Taylor is among those named in what a Monrovia newspaper calls the largest narcotics case in the country's judicial history. The allegations have not been proven.
Monrovia — Twenty people, among them former vice president Jewel Howard-Taylor, face arrest warrants in Liberia over an alleged cocaine trafficking operation valued at US$317 million, the Liberian Observer reports.
The warrants, dated 25 August and signed by the clerk of Criminal Court "C", Abel Kalay, list charges including unlicensed importation of drugs, illicit trafficking, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation and money laundering under the country's amended 2023 drugs law.
How the case began
In July the government announced the seizure of about four tonnes of cocaine, which it valued at US$317 million. Prosecutors say the case grew out of a months-long investigation into a transnational narcotics network.
Howard-Taylor, who served as vice president from 2018 to 2024, was detained in August at Roberts International Airport as she tried to leave the country, according to the newspaper. On 24 September Judge Ousman F. Feika denied a motion for bail.
Who else is named
The list of defendants includes foreign nationals and Liberians, among them two senior police officers. Some of the accused are being held at Monrovia Central Prison. Others have been declared at large.
The Observer describes the case as "the largest narcotics docket in Liberian judicial history". All those named are entitled to the presumption of innocence, and none of the allegations has been tested at trial.
West Africa has for years been a transit route for cocaine moving from South America to Europe, and several countries in the region have reported record seizures.
This report is based on reporting by the Liberian Observer, via AllAfrica. The case was still before the court when it was written.
