By Vaye Abel Lepolu
Monrovia: The Monrovia City Court has granted former Liberia National Police (LNP) Chief Investigator Johnny Bolor Dean a property valuation bond of US317 million in a drug-trafficking case.
Dean, the former Crime Services Commissioner, was formally charged on September 1, 2026, with criminal conspiracy, bribery, tampering with a criminal investigation, and obstruction of government functions. The charges stem from allegations that he accepted US$10,000 to derail a police probe into one of the largest narcotics cases in recent Liberian history.
According to the police charge sheet, Dean received the money from Stephanie Fefe Mensah while her alleged accomplice, Edison Brown, and co-suspect Alpha Bah were actively under investigation. Prosecutors say the payment was intended to corruptly sway the investigative process.
Dean admitted to receiving the funds but told investigators that Mensah—whom he described as his lover—had given him the money purely for safekeeping. Police confirm the cash was later recovered from his possession.
Investigators further allege that Dean abused his official position by leaking sensitive case details to Mensah, including the fact that Brown had been arrested. The charge sheet accuses him of “us[ing] his official position to frustrate the investigation” and failing to execute his legal duties as a public servant.
The case originated from an internal administrative review by the LNP’s Professional Standards Division, which led to Dean and Mensah being transferred to the Crime Services Department on August 18, 2026. That transfer paved the way for the criminal inquiry now before the courts.
Mensah, Brown, and Mohammed Juldeh Bah are named as accomplices or co-defendants, while Alpha Bah remains referenced in connection with the underlying drug investigation. The alleged offense occurred on July 21, 2026, at LNP headquarters in Montserrado County. No arrest date is recorded on the charge sheet.
