Liberia's former vice-president will be treated with "due process" after she was arrested and accused of involvement in an international drug trafficking network, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai said Wednesday.

Jewel Howard-Taylor, who is also the ex-wife of former rebel leader Charles Taylor, president from 1997 to 2003, was charged last week and remanded in custody in a case linked to the country's biggest-ever drug seizure.

Boakai launched an investigation and pledged to "expose and destroy" the country's drug networks in June after 237.6 kilogrammes (524 pounds) of cocaine was seized at the airport.

West Africa is a key transit point for cocaine produced in Latin America and shipped to consumer countries in Europe.

‘Presumed innocent’

He insisted his campaign was not targeting any political movements or individuals but rather was "directed at conduct that threatens the safety, stability, and future of Liberia".

"I assure every Liberian, our regional neighbours, and our international partners that former Vice President Taylor is being treated in full compliance with the constitution and laws of Liberia," he said.

"She is presumed innocent, has access to legal counsel, and is entitled to due process, which will be upheld."

Howard-Taylor served as vice president from 2018 to 2024 under president George Weah.

Her ex-husband is currently serving a 50-year sentence in a British jail for funding rebel groups in Sierra Leone - not the recruitment of child soldiers, killings, rape and pillaging of which he is accused at home.