Convicted smuggler implicated in Liberian drug probe

Nikola Ivančić, a Croatian national previously convicted in Croatia for drug smuggling, has resurfaced in a Liberian investigation concerning drug trafficking and money laundering. He is a co-defendant alongside Jewel Howard-Taylor, Liberia's former vice president, who served from 2018 to 2024.

Ivančić was sentenced in Croatia to three years and five months in prison for his involvement in a criminal association that smuggled cocaine from South America to Europe between 2005 and 2009. He had already served time in pretrial detention, which covered his sentence. The court had also ordered him to repay two million Croatian kuna, though it is unknown if he complied.

According to Liberian media reports, Ivančić is believed to be living in Dubai. Liberian authorities are seeking him, along with another Croatian national, Mihovil Vrbovac, and a Ukrainian citizen, Tara Zaderijeko. These individuals are reportedly not accessible to Liberian authorities.

Ivančić's criminal activities were previously detailed in a Croatian investigation known as "Operation Domald." He was later implicated again in "Operation Armagedon," which targeted a ring accused of smuggling tons of cocaine. This latter operation involved Kristijan Palić, arrested in Istanbul in 2023, and allegedly operated from October 2019 to April 2021 across multiple countries including Croatia, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, and Colombia.

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I did it. I have my company in Germany, I live in a de facto union, I have a 10-month-old child. But I do not admit to having earned about two million kuna from it.