Liberia: Ex-NSA Deputy, Four Others Jailed in U.S.$317 Million Cocaine Case

What the report says

A Liberian court has ordered the arrest and detention of Gerald Folley Smith, a former deputy director of the National Security Agency, along with four other defendants in a major cocaine trafficking case tied to former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor. The defendants were taken to Monrovia Central Prison on Wednesday after a writ of arrest was issued by Criminal Court C, according to the report from The Liberian Investigator distributed by AllAfrica.

The case centers on a July 21, 2026 seizure of 3,971 plates of cocaine packed into 157 bags from a compound in the VOA Community off the Robertsfield Highway in Monrovia. Prosecutors say the drugs were worth about US$317 million. The indictment returned by a Montserrado County grand jury names 18 defendants, plus two men identified only as Sekou and Nana, and others yet to be identified.

The report says the indictment accuses several former or current security and law enforcement personnel of helping protect or move the drug network. It also names foreign suspects and alleges the organization was directed from Dubai. Howard-Taylor, who served as vice president from 2018 to 2024, is said to deny wrongdoing and to be relying on the courts to clear her. Her office said she is innocent and has called for due process.

The case is significant because it combines allegations of international drug trafficking with claims of corruption and abuse of state security channels. The court process is still unfolding, and the report notes there was no immediate clarity on which court will try the matter.