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By Kruah Thompson
MONROVIA, August 20, 2026: Former Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor has been charged in connection with Liberia’s ongoing investigation into a major transnational cocaine trafficking network after security authorities prevented her from leaving the country early Wednesday.
Justice Minister Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh announced the charges during a special briefing at the Ministry of Information late Wednesday, August 19, following hours of questioning of the former Vice President at the headquarters of the Liberia National Police.
Tweh said Taylor faces multiple charges under the Controlled Drug and Substance Act of 2023, the Penal Law of Liberia and the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law.
Under the Controlled Drug and Substance Act, Taylor was charged with Unlicensed Importation of a Controlled Drug or Substance under Section 14.83; Unlicensed Sale, Trading, Administration, Dispensation, Delivery, Distribution, Dispatch in Transit and Transportation of a Controlled Drug or Substance under Section 14.85; and Illicit Trafficking of a Controlled Drug or Substance under Section 14.93.
She was also charged under Chapter 10 of the Penal Law with Criminal Solicitation, Criminal Facilitation and Criminal Conspiracy, and under Section 15.2 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law with alleged money laundering.
The charges mark a significant escalation in the government’s investigation into the cocaine trafficking network, which has already led to arrests, dismissals and suspensions of several security and government officials.
Before the charges were announced, Taylor was prevented from leaving Liberia while preparing to travel to Accra, Ghana, to attend a women’s forum.
She was subsequently asked by Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman to report for questioning in connection with the investigation.
Taylor earlier said she had been informed that she was not permitted to leave the country and had been directed to report to a police station. She said she was complying with the directive.
Information Minister Jerolinmek M. Piah later confirmed that the former Vice President was being treated as a person of interest in the investigation.
Taylor reportedly spent more than eight hours at Police Headquarters undergoing questioning before the government announced the charges.
Three Foreign Nationals Charged
The government also announced that three alleged members and organizers of the same transnational narcotics network had been charged in absentia.
They were identified as Nikolai Ivancic, a Croatian national; Mihovil Vrovac, also a Croatian national; and Tara Zaderieko, a Ukrainian national.
Tweh further disclosed that former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency for Administration Gerald Smith had been called in for questioning in connection with the investigation.
The Justice Ministry said the government would pursue all lawful domestic and international measures necessary to locate, apprehend and bring the defendants before Liberian courts.
According to Tweh, the investigation has reached a decisive stage in the government’s effort to expose and dismantle what authorities describe as a transnational narcotics network operating in Liberia.
He said investigators would pursue the network’s alleged leadership, financiers, facilitators, transporters, operational coordinators, institutional protectors and anyone who knowingly assisted its activities.
“No office is too high, no political connection is too powerful, no nationality provides immunity and no individual is beyond the reach of the law,” Tweh said.
The Justice Minister described transnational narcotics trafficking as more than an ordinary criminal enterprise, saying it poses a direct threat to Liberia’s national security, public institutions, economy and young people.
He warned that any criminal organization attempting to corrupt public officials, penetrate state institutions or turn Liberia into a transit corridor for illicit narcotics would face the full force of the law.
Tweh said the government’s objective was not merely to seize drugs or arrest low-level operatives, but to dismantle the entire alleged criminal infrastructure, including its leadership, financing, logistics, protection arrangements and international connections.
He pledged that investigators would follow the evidence across institutions, political boundaries and national borders.
“There will be no selective justice, political protection, sacred cows or compromise with organized criminality,” Tweh said.
According to him, anyone against whom credible and admissible evidence is established will be investigated and prosecuted without fear, favor or political consideration.
Political Reactions
The governing Unity Party endorsed the questioning of Taylor, saying the investigation should not shield anyone because of political affiliation, former public office or economic status.
The party accused some opposition figures of attempting to politicize the investigation by portraying arrests and invitations for questioning as a witch hunt.
It urged political leaders with credible evidence concerning the cocaine investigation to submit it to the Joint Security or the courts rather than obstruct the investigation.
The Unity Party also called on security personnel involved in the probe to remain professional, apolitical and committed to their constitutional duties.
But opposition politicians strongly criticized the government’s handling of the case.
Representative Marvin Cole described the government’s action as an “unprofessional coverup” and called for current Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung to also face questioning in connection with the investigation.
Representative Eugene Kollie, meanwhile, maintained that Taylor was innocent.
Congress for Democratic Change Chairman Janga Augustus Kowo described the government’s action against Taylor as a strategy that was “dead on arrival.”
Kowo accused the government of attempting to use the former Vice President as a scapegoat while failing to adequately address the alleged involvement of government and security officials.
“Harassing former Vice President H.E. Jewel Howard Taylor will not help the government,” Kowo wrote.
He argued that there must be full accountability for government officials and security personnel implicated in the investigation.
Gov’t Stresses Presumption of Innocence
Despite the charges, the government emphasized that the accusations do not constitute judgments of guilt.
It said Taylor and the other defendants remain presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty before a court of competent jurisdiction.
The government said the accused are entitled to legal representation, due process and all constitutional and statutory protections guaranteed under Liberian law.
Tweh said the investigation remains active and sensitive and involves multiple individuals and jurisdictions. He said authorities would not disclose information that could compromise ongoing operations, endanger cooperating individuals or prejudice judicial proceedings.
The Justice Ministry also urged the public, political actors and media institutions to avoid speculation, intimidation of witnesses and publication of unverified information that could interfere with the investigation or undermine the administration of justice.
“Let there be no misunderstanding: Liberia will not be surrendered to drug traffickers or those who enable them,” Tweh said.
He vowed that the government would pursue the alleged network’s financial and institutional support systems and bring every person found culpable before the law.
