-Former Vice President Escorted to Police Headquarters as Security Probe Revisits Her Past Relationship With Sheik Bassirou Kante
MONROVIA, Liberia — Former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has been stopped from leaving Liberia as part of the ongoing investigation into the country’s illegal narcotics trade, with a previously documented relationship between Howard-Taylor and businessman Sheik Bassirou Kante now emerging as a significant line of inquiry, according to a credible security source familiar with the investigation.
Howard-Taylor was subsequently escorted to the headquarters of the Liberia National Police on Wednesday, August 19, morning where she was accompanied by her lawyer, former Supreme Court Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, and Mr. Israel Akinsaya, a ranking executive member of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
Information Minister Jerolinmek M. Piah had confirmed the report of her debarment earlier when rumors started circulating that authorities prevented Howard-Taylor from leaving Liberia, while the former Vice President had also acknowledged that she was stopped.
The Liberian Post has now learned from a highly placed source associated with the Joint Security Committee investigating the illegal drug trade in Liberia that Howard-Taylor’s travel restriction is connected to the ongoing narcotics investigation.
The source further alleged that investigators are examining Howard-Taylor’s association with Sheik Bassirou Kante, a Liberian businessman whose relationship with Howard-Taylor became the subject of intense scrutiny in 2022 after his arrest in the United States.
According to the security source, Kante is currently cooperating with the Liberian government and assisting investigators with the ongoing probe.
The source described Kante as an alleged drug kingpin, but The Liberian Post has not independently verified that characterization and is not presenting it as an established fact.
What can be independently established is that Kante has a documented history involving U.S. allegations of wire fraud and money-laundering-related conduct, a Liberian diplomatic passport he was not entitled to hold as a diplomat, and reported connections to senior Liberian officials.
The Kante Connection Comes Back Into Focus
The connection between Howard-Taylor and Kante is not new.
It first became a major public issue in April-May 2022, when U.S. authorities arrested Kante in Maryland in connection with allegations involving more than US$7 million in wire fraud and money laundering.
During proceedings surrounding his detention, U.S. court records reportedly highlighted Kante’s unusually strong connections to Liberia.
OCCRP, citing the U.S. court record, reported that when authorities searched Kante’s Maryland residence they found a Liberian diplomatic passport, along with multiple passports from other countries and fraudulent identification documents. U.S. investigators also discovered emails involving Kante and then-Vice President Howard-Taylor.
A Liberian court and U.S. court-related reporting subsequently brought renewed attention to how a private businessman who held no formal diplomatic position had obtained a Liberian diplomatic passport.
The issue was serious enough that then-President George Manneh Weah ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate how Kante obtained the diplomatic passport and instructed the ministry to halt issuance of diplomatic passports without his authorization.
Howard-Taylor Acknowledged Knowing Kante—but Denied Passport Role
Howard-Taylor did not deny knowing Kante.
Her office acknowledged in May 2022 that she had interacted with him, but firmly denied that she had recommended or requested that a Liberian diplomatic passport be issued to him.
In a later interview, Howard-Taylor again addressed the controversy.
Asked specifically about reports describing her relationship with Kante as a “very close personal relationship,” she said she had met Kante while providing humanitarian assistance to less fortunate Liberians and that they had collaborated on humanitarian projects.
She maintained that the relationship did not extend beyond that.
Regarding the diplomatic passport controversy, Howard-Taylor said she had not recommended its issuance.
That historical denial is important to the current story because it establishes that Howard-Taylor’s relationship with Kante has previously been publicly acknowledged, while allegations concerning the nature of that relationship and the passport were disputed by her.
Kante’s U.S. Case Produced Another Important Development
Kante’s U.S. case later generated additional revelations concerning his relationships with Liberian officials.
In January 2023, FrontPageAfrica reported that Kante had reached a plea-bargain arrangement with U.S. authorities and was cooperating with investigators.
The publication reported that Kante had agreed to provide information about his companies and business partners in Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as Liberian officials allegedly involved in obtaining and selling diplomatic passports. It also reported that he had agreed to become an informant for a U.S.-based investigative team examining illicit activities in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
FrontPageAfrica subsequently reported that Kante had disclosed names of Liberian officials and others allegedly involved in his dealings. Those claims were reported as information from sources and should not be treated as judicial findings against unnamed individuals.
The new information now reaching The Liberian Post is potentially significant because a security source says Kante is again cooperating with investigators—this time with the Liberian government—in the current narcotics investigation.
That claim requires further official confirmation.
Why Kante Matters to the Current Narcotics Probe
The significance of Kante’s name in the current investigation lies not simply in his past relationship with Howard-Taylor, but in his documented history with Liberia’s political and security establishment and his previous cooperation with U.S. investigators.
The current security source says investigators are examining whether information arising from Kante’s cooperation has any relevance to the broader narcotics investigation and Howard-Taylor’s relationship with him.
The source did not provide The Liberian Post with documentary evidence establishing the precise information Kante has allegedly supplied to the Liberian government.
Nor did the source provide evidence establishing that Howard-Taylor participated in narcotics trafficking.
Those distinctions are critical.
A historical association with Kante does not establish involvement in the illegal drug trade.
Likewise, Howard-Taylor being stopped from leaving Liberia does not, by itself, establish that she has committed a crime.
The Narcotics Investigation Changes the Context
The development comes as Liberia’s Joint National Security Investigative Team continues its probe into the country’s unprecedented cocaine seizure.
Authorities seized approximately 237.6 kilograms of cocaine, valued at more than US$19 million, at Roberts International Airport.
The investigation has since expanded beyond the shipment itself, with investigators examining the people and networks allegedly responsible for bringing the cocaine into Liberia and facilitating its movement.
The probe has also reached into Liberia’s security institutions, with police and other security personnel coming under scrutiny.
Police Inspector General Gregory O. W. Coleman, who heads the Joint National Security Investigative Team, has repeatedly insisted that investigators will follow credible evidence wherever it leads.
In a recent letter to Gbarpolu County Senator Amara M. Konneh, Coleman wrote:
“No rank, title, friendship, or political connection will place that person beyond investigation.”
That position is particularly relevant to the Howard-Taylor development because she is a former Vice President and one of the country’s most prominent political figures.
From Airport Departure to Police Headquarters
Howard-Taylor’s movement on Wednesday has now unfolded in several stages.
She was first stopped from leaving Liberia. The government confirmed the action.
Howard-Taylor acknowledged that she had been prevented from travelling. She was then escorted to Liberia National Police headquarters.
She arrived accompanied by former Supreme Court Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, serving as her lawyer, and Israel Akinsaya, a ranking CDC executive.
The government has confirmed the travel restriction’s connection to the ongoing narcotics investigation, but it has not publicly detailed what investigators are seeking from Howard-Taylor.
It is also not yet publicly established whether she is being treated as a witness, person of interest or suspect.
What Investigators May Be Seeking
Given the history surrounding Kante, several questions naturally arise.
Investigators may want to establish:
- the nature and extent of Howard-Taylor’s relationship with Kante;
- the circumstances under which they interacted;
- whether their relationship involved business, humanitarian or political activities;
- whether Howard-Taylor had any knowledge of Kante’s activities;
- what information Kante has allegedly provided to Liberian investigators;
- whether any information supplied by Kante concerns Howard-Taylor;
- whether Kante’s past dealings in Liberia overlap with the current narcotics investigation; and
- whether any documentary, financial or communications evidence connects people in the historical Kante matter to the present drug investigation.
But these are investigative questions, not established facts.
The Liberian Post has not seen evidence showing that Howard-Taylor participated in drug trafficking.
Kante Has a Complicated History With Liberia
Kante, popularly known in Liberia as “Royal Gold,” was a prominent businessman and philanthropist before his arrest in the United States.
His public profile in Liberia included connections with senior political figures and high-profile social events.
He was also reported to have financed the appearance of Nigerian music duo P-Square during Liberia’s Bicentennial celebrations, spending approximately US$100,000, according to contemporary Liberian reporting.
His possession of a Liberian diplomatic passport, despite not holding a formal diplomatic position, subsequently became one of the most controversial aspects of his case.
The scandal prompted President Weah to order an investigation into the passport’s issuance. Years later, reporting by FrontPageAfrica and civil society organizations continued to question whether the findings of that investigation had ever been publicly released.
An Old Relationship Under a New Investigation
The central significance of the Howard-Taylor-Kante connection today is therefore not that the relationship is newly discovered.
It is that a relationship publicly acknowledged four years ago has resurfaced in the middle of Liberia’s largest recent narcotics investigation.
Howard-Taylor has previously explained her relationship with Kante as one connected to humanitarian work and denied involvement in the issuance of his diplomatic passport.
The government is now restricting her travel as part of an investigation into illegal narcotics, while a security source says Kante is cooperating with Liberian investigators.
That combination creates a legitimate and important public-interest question:
What, if anything, does Kante know about the wider network now under investigation—and does any of that information concern Howard-Taylor?
At this point, the answer is not publicly known.
Government Has Yet to Detail Howard-Taylor’s Investigative Status
Despite the dramatic developments, the government has not publicly announced that Howard-Taylor has been charged with a narcotics offense.
Nor has it publicly accused her of trafficking drugs.
That distinction must remain clear.
The fact that authorities have restricted her travel and escorted her to police headquarters establishes that investigators have an interest in engaging with her.
It does not establish criminal liability.
The government’s next public statement will therefore be important in determining whether Howard-Taylor is being questioned as a witness, person of interest or suspect—and whether any formal legal action is contemplated.
A Potentially Significant New Chapter in the Cocaine Probe
If the security source’s account that Kante is cooperating with Liberian investigators is confirmed, his role could become highly significant.
Kante has previously been reported as having provided information to U.S.-based investigators about Liberian officials and business relationships.
Now, according to the source, he is allegedly providing assistance to the Liberian government in an investigation into illegal narcotics.
Whether that cooperation has produced information concerning Howard-Taylor—or anyone else in Liberia’s political or security establishment—remains to be established.
For now, the former Vice President remains at police headquarters with legal counsel.
And the Kante connection, once associated primarily with Liberia’s diplomatic-passport scandal, has suddenly acquired a new relevance in the country’s fight against international narcotics trafficking.
The Liberian Post is continuing to seek official confirmation and additional documentary evidence concerning Kante’s alleged cooperation with the Joint Security investigation and Howard-Taylor’s specific status in the narcotics probe.
This is a developing story. More details will follow as they are confirmed.
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