MONROVIA — Liberia's investigation into an alleged "cocaine cartel" took a major turn Monday as former Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor was named a person of interest and brought in for questioning by a government security taskforce.
According to officials and video circulated on social media, security agents stopped Ms. Taylor on the Congo Town back road as she was en route to Roberts International Airport for a trip to Accra, Ghana, to attend a "women's forum."
In the video, a calm but visibly surprised Ms. Taylor is heard telling officers: "I am not going to the police station without my lawyer." She instructed her driver to take her home. She was later escorted to the Liberia National Police headquarters by her lawyer, former Associate Justice Cllr. Kabineh Ja'neh.
Information Minister Jerolinmek M. Piah confirmed on state radio that the former Vice President was in police custody to "assist with investigation as a person of interest" linked to the ongoing cocaine bust.
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The development has drawn sharp and divided reactions nationwide.
Supporters of the Boakai administration hailed it as a sign that "no one is above the law." Critics, however, questioned the timing and motive.
CDC National Chairman Janga Augustus Kowo condemned the move, calling it "intimidation" and "scapegoating."
In a statement he wrote: "Your strategy is dead on arrival! You cannot intimidate us! You cannot scapegoat the government's complicity in the cocaine case as evidenced by all the dismissals and suspensions of government security actors and other officials."
He added: "This form of harassment of the former Vice President will not help the government. There will be full accountability of the government and government actors for this cocaine."
The questioning comes weeks after Liberia's record $19 million cocaine seizure at Roberts International Airport and a wave of dismissals and suspensions of security officials allegedly linked to the case.
Authorities say the Security Investigative Taskforce is expanding its probe to include high-profile individuals across party lines. It remains unclear what specific role investigators allege Ms. Taylor may have played.
As of press time, Ms. Taylor had not been charged. Officials said she was assisting investigators and would be released pending further inquiry.
The case continues to dominate public debate over corruption, accountability, and the government's commitment to dismantling drug networks in Liberia.
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She is the first high-profile official of the former George Weah administration to be called in for questioning in connection to the government's anti-drug crackdown that has led to senior security officers dismissed, arrested and charge
