Former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has been invited by investigators of the Liberian National Police to answer questions in connection with an ongoing cocaine investigation, police spokesperson Sam Collins has confirmed.
Howard-Taylor was reportedly stopped at Roberts International Airport on Wednesday morning while preparing to travel to Accra, Ghana, where she was scheduled to attend a women’s forum.
According to the former Vice President, she was informed at the airport that she could not leave the country and had been asked to report to the headquarters of the Liberia National Police to address concerns relating to an ongoing investigation.
“I was about to go to Accra to attend a women’s forum and I was informed that I’m not allowed to leave the country. They have asked that I report to the police station. I am on my way there,” Howard-Taylor said in a message to supporters.
Confirming the development, LNP spokesperson Sam Collins said Howard-Taylor had been invited to meet investigators, but declined to immediately disclose which of Liberia’s two major ongoing cocaine investigations is connected to the questioning.
He said the police would provide more details as the investigation progresses and disclosed that a major statement from the institution leading the investigation is expected later Wednesday.
Howard-Taylor’s questioning comes amid heightened investigations into two major cocaine seizures — one involving a reported $19 million worth of cocaine intercepted at Roberts International Airport and another involving cocaine reportedly valued at $317 million discovered along the Roberts International Airport Highway.
Police have not established publicly which of the two cases prompted the former Vice President’s invitation.
Authorities have also emphasized that being invited for questioning does not mean Howard-Taylor has been arrested, charged, or determined to be involved in any criminal activity.
As of the latest information, she is being treated as a person of interest who may possess information investigators consider relevant to the probe.
The development has generated heightened security around the LNP headquarters, where police officers, including personnel equipped with protective gear, were deployed at the facility’s entrances ahead of Howard-Taylor’s expected arrival.
Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman and the newly appointed Director-General of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, retired General Daniel Z. Ziankiahn, were also seen at the LNP headquarters amid the unfolding development.
Sources have alleged that the investigation could involve questions surrounding diplomatic passports reportedly issued to individuals arrested or linked to the wider narcotics investigation. However, police have not publicly confirmed the allegation or attributed any wrongdoing to Howard-Taylor.
The former Vice President is expected to appear before investigators accompanied by her lawyers.
The questioning marks one of the most prominent developments in Liberia’s expanding cocaine investigation, which has generated public demands for authorities to identify and prosecute individuals allegedly connected to the trafficking of narcotics into the country.
Police officials have urged the public to rely on statements from authorized institutions, including the Liberia National Police, Ministry of Justice and the agency leading the investigation, warning against the circulation of unverified information.
Further details are expected as investigators proceed with the questioning.
