Mark Mengonfia

Liberia has charged former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor with drug trafficking, money laundering, conspiracy and related offenses in an investigation into an alleged international narcotics network. She was detained at Roberts International Airport while attempting to leave the country. Three foreign nationals were also charged in absentia. The case follows Liberia’s seizure of cocaine valued at approximately $336 million, although authorities said the two investigations are unrelated. The report places the charges within West Africa’s growing role as a transit route for cocaine moving from South America to Europe.

Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 people deported from the United States who are not Liberian nationals, including Africans and people from North America, South America and the Caribbean. The first group of 20 is expected to arrive within a year. Liberia says the arrangement is humanitarian, will provide support and allow deportees to seek asylum or leave the country. Immigration lawyers and advocates argue that the Trump administration’s third-country deportations exploit a legal loophole and may place asylum seekers at renewed risk if they are ultimately forced back to countries they fled.

Liberian authorities destroyed 4.2 metric tons of cocaine valued at roughly $336 million after the country's largest drug seizure near Monrovia. Two foreign nationals were arrested, while senior police officials face charges for allegedly escorting the shipment. The seizure underscores West Africa's growing role as a transit route for cocaine moving from South America to Europe.

Liberian authorities destroyed more than four metric tons of cocaine valued at roughly $336 million, including a record seizure from a property near Monrovia and an earlier airport seizure. The investigation has implicated senior police officials, including the chief of highway patrol and the head of the major crimes unit, while Serbian and Colombian-Spanish nationals were detained. Police Inspector General Gregory O.W. Coleman said the destruction was intended to deter traffickers. The seizures highlight West Africa’s role as a major cocaine transit route from South America to Europe, alongside growing local consumption.