-Former VP Howard-Taylor Denies Drug Charges
By Jerromie S. Walters
MONROVIA, LIBERIA — Former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has categorically denied all drug trafficking charges leveled against her, describing the case as a politically motivated witch-hunt and an abuse of state power.
The 63-year-old former vice president spent her third consecutive night under armed state security watch on Friday, while hospitalized at the Gomez Institute of Medical Science (GIMS Hospital) in Congo Town. She was admitted Thursday evening after suffering a medical emergency—an asthmatic attack and elevated blood pressure—following her arrest and formal charging in what authorities have called Liberia’s largest drug bust case.
In a statement released Saturday, Howard-Taylor’s office rejected “in the strongest possible terms” all charges read against her by Minister of Justice Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh.
These allegations are baseless, unfounded, and without merit, and Her Excellency will not accept a single word of them,” the statement read.
The former vice president faces seven criminal counts under three separate legal frameworks: unlicensed importation of a controlled substance, unlicensed sale and transportation, illicit trafficking, criminal solicitation, facilitation, conspiracy, and money laundering. Each count carries significant prison time upon conviction.
Airport Interception Raises Questions
Howard-Taylor was barred from leaving Liberia early Wednesday morning when joint security forces intercepted her at Roberts International Airport. She had been preparing to travel to Accra, Ghana, to deliver a keynote address at a women’s forum.
Her office stated there had been “no prior notice that she was under investigation and no summons for questioning.” Authorities were attempting to connect her to individuals allegedly under investigation for transnational criminal activity, “based solely on official engagements carried out during her tenure as Vice President.”
“Let us be absolutely clear that contacts and engagements carried out in the course of executing her official duties are not evidence of participation in anyone’s alleged crimes,” the statement emphasized.
The former vice president’s legal team, including former Supreme Court Associate Justice Kabineh M. Ja’neh and Israel Akinsaya, maintained she was prepared to voluntarily report to Police Headquarters. However, while traveling to meet her lawyers, her vehicle was intercepted on the Congo Town Back-road and she was escorted to police headquarters.
Dubai Connection and Recorded Call
The charges stem from two massive cocaine seizures that have shaken the nation. In July 2026, authorities intercepted approximately 238 kilograms of cocaine valued at US$319 million along the airport highway in Duazon—the largest drug bust in Liberian history.
Investigators have traced Howard-Taylor’s connection to the alleged drug network through a Dubai meeting in early 2022. According to investigative sources, Sheikh Bassirou Kante introduced the then-vice president to three foreign nationals—Croatians Nikolai Ivancic and Mihovil Vrovac, along with Ukrainian national Tara Zaderieko—who have been charged in absentia as alleged members of the narcotics network.
Kante reportedly told Howard-Taylor he knew of investors interested in putting US$250 million into the Liberian economy. She met the group in Dubai and told them they were welcome to invest, according to sources.
However, Kante’s credibility as a witness has raised significant questions. He was arrested in Maryland in April 2022 on charges tied to a multimillion-dollar business email scam and money laundering. He pleaded guilty and was placed on supervised release, but federal authorities issued a warrant for his arrest after he went unaccounted for on October 23, 2024. The U.S. Marshals Service still seeks information on his whereabouts.
According to investigative sources, Kante struck a deal with investigators to have his own name removed from the probe in exchange for evidence linking Howard-Taylor to the case. Wired with a recording device, he placed a call to the former vice president, telling her the same group he had introduced her to in 2022 had sent her a “gift.” That recording formed the basis for her arrest.
Howard-Taylor’s office has raised alarms about plans by “elements within the government to doctor and create audio and visual recordings, using artificial intelligence, to generate fabricated evidence.” The statement promised that “any such manufactured material will be met with independent forensic scrutiny.”
Political Comparisons and Government Overhaul
The case has drawn inevitable comparisons to allegations against Vice President Jeremiah Koung regarding links to drug dealers. Critics have used two highly publicized scandals—involving photographs with an individual identified as “Tony” Deinuka and a bribery attempt by an official named Clifford Payne—to accuse his office of harboring individuals tied to illicit narcotics networks.
However, the Joint National Security Investigative Task Force publicly confirmed that Deinuka was never officially named as a suspect, while Vice President Koung immediately distanced himself from Payne, ordering his suspension and handing him over to face non-bailable charges.
Koung issued a public ultimatum: “Anyone connected to me by whatsoever means, whether by blood, by marriage, by employment, or by friendship, who engages in drug-related activities will face the full weight of the law.” Many observers question why a similar precedent did not apply in the former vice president’s case.
In response to the record-breaking seizures, President Joseph Boakai has dismissed approximately 12 government and law enforcement officials, including the airport’s deputy director for operations, the police criminal intelligence chief, and National Security Agency deputy directors. The president cited administrative negligence and direct indictment concerns.
Legal Battle Ahead
Howard-Taylor’s hospitalization has introduced unexpected complications to the legal proceedings. Medical personnel were initially dispatched to police headquarters when her legal team requested urgent care. State security officials, including Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman and LDEA Director General Daniel Ziankahn, personally escorted her to the facility.
The former vice president had been scheduled to appear in court Thursday, but her deteriorating health forced a postponement. State security personnel remain present at GIMS Hospital, maintaining their watch as she receives treatment.
“Her Excellency will not be intimidated, bullied into accepting guilt by association, or used to let legitimate law-enforcement concerns be turned into a political weapon,” her office stated. “She considers it a politically motivated witch-hunt and an abuse of state power—and the Liberian people deserve to know whether state institutions are being used impartially.”
The statement concluded with a defiant message: “She will fight this through the law, confront every allegation, and defend her name, record, and integrity. She remains confident the truth will prevail, and welcomes a fair, transparent investigation based on evidence—not insinuation, political pressure, or manufactured narratives.”
