Liberia: Police Charge Ex-Crime Services Chief Johnny Dean With Bribery
[Liberian Investigator] MONROVIA -- The Liberia National Police has charged the former head of its criminal investigations arm with taking US$10,000 to compromise a US$317 million drug trafficking case and has forwarded him to court.
Liberia's former head of the criminal investigations department, Johnny Bolar Dean, has been charged with bribery and other offenses, according to a police charge sheet dated September 1, 2026. Dean, who served as commissioner of the Crime Services Department, is accused of taking $10,000 from Stephanie Fefe Mensah in exchange for compromising a drug trafficking case worth $317 million, along with Edison Brown and Alpha Bah.
Dean admitted to receiving the money but claimed it was for safekeeping and that Mensah was his lover, which investigators rejected. The charge sheet alleges Dean also falsely informed Mensah that Brown had been arrested, disclosed confidential information, failed to perform duties, and obstructed the inquiry. Dean's conduct is deemed an attempt to impair the government's criminal investigative functions.
The case was initiated on August 18, 2026, following an administrative investigation by the police Professional Standard Division. A special investigative team found that Dean received the money while Brown and Bah were under investigation. Dean is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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