Published: September 4, 2026
MONROVIA — An alleged transnational cocaine network sought political protection from then-Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor and discussed a plot to assassinate then-President George Weah, a senior police investigator testified Friday.
Repheal Wilson, acting commissioner of the Liberia National Police’s Crime Services Division, made the allegations as the prosecution’s first witness at Howard-Taylor’s preliminary examination before the Monrovia City Court. His testimony is untested. It has not been subjected to cross-examination, the state has not yet produced the underlying evidence, and no court has made any finding on it. Howard-Taylor and her co-defendants deny the allegations.
Wilson testified that investigators documented meetings involving Howard-Taylor during her tenure as vice president from 2018 to 2024, and that members of the alleged organization sought access to her because of the office she held.
He said investigators also uncovered discussions about a plot to assassinate Weah while he was president. Prosecutors have not put the evidence for that allegation before the court.
Wilson said he supervised the investigation into what prosecutors describe as a trafficking organization operating in Liberia, Dubai, Nigeria and other jurisdictions between 2021 and 2024. Investigators established connections between Liberian and foreign nationals who met in Dubai before traveling to Liberia to set up operations that went beyond legitimate business, he said, and the group sought access to senior government officials who could shield its activities.
Investigators deployed covert recording equipment at several meetings and obtained video the prosecution says captured discussions of cocaine trafficking, financial transactions and efforts to secure official protection, Wilson said.
One of the foreign nationals, identified in court as Nicholas, told the group’s Liberian contacts that it trafficked cocaine and wanted Liberia written into its international distribution route, Wilson said. The group again sought protection to make that possible, he said.
Wilson also referred to about US$250 million tied to the broader operation. He did not tell the court how investigators arrived at the figure or point to evidence tracing the money to any defendant.
The investigation continued after the change of government, Wilson said, and investigators later identified additional people they say were connected to the organization. The state’s case is that this was a long-running international enterprise rather than a single shipment.
Defense lawyers are expected to challenge the credibility of the investigation and the prosecution’s reading of the evidence.
The hearing continues before Stipendiary Magistrate L. Ben Barco, who must decide whether the state has shown probable cause to send the case to Criminal Court for trial. Probable cause is a far lower threshold than the proof beyond a reasonable doubt the state would need at trial, where it would have to establish that the network existed, that the recordings and other evidence are authentic and admissible, and that each defendant knowingly took part in the offenses charged.
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