IPNEWS: The Liberia National Police says its investigation into dismissed Police Commissioner Johnny Bolar Dean is nearing completion and could soon be forwarded to court, marking a significant official development in the wider cocaine investigations that have implicated senior security officials.
LNP spokesman Deputy Commissioner of Police Sam Collins said during a September 3 appearance on OK FM’s Legal Hour that Dean’s case was “almost at its concluding stage” and that he could be sent to court “anytime soon.”
The comments were reported on September 7 by Verity News.
Dean previously served as Commissioner of Police for Criminal Investigation, Intelligence and INTERPOL.
Police spokesman Collins did not announce formal charges.
He also did not disclose whether prosecutors have completed a criminal case file or whether Dean has been formally referred to the Ministry of Justice.
His statement instead places the investigation at an advanced stage.
The distinction matters.
Dean has been dismissed, but he has not been publicly convicted of any offense. The alleged US$10,000 payment remains subject to investigation and judicial testing.
The case has attracted sustained scrutiny because Coleman publicly acknowledged Dean’s alleged admission months ago.
At the time, Coleman said Dean had been compromised during the cocaine investigation and would undergo professional standards and criminal investigation before any court action.
The new LNP statement suggests that process is now close to completion.
The same September 7 reporting says former RIA Deputy Director Mark Egon Kuiah remains free despite his identification as a person of interest in the broader cocaine investigation.
Authorities have not publicly announced a criminal charge against Kuiah.
Verity News also reported questions surrounding Kuiah’s earlier involvement with the vessel IB Atlantic IV Maroni and a July request connected to its operations in Liberian territorial waters.
Those issues have not resulted in a publicly announced prosecution.
Dean’s case sits inside a much larger investigation into alleged institutional compromise during Liberia’s cocaine seizures.
The June 8 Roberts International Airport case involved approximately 237.6 kilograms of cocaine valued by authorities at about US$19.2 million.
A second investigation followed the July seizure of approximately 3,971 kilograms of cocaine in Duazon, valued at roughly US$317 million.
President Boakai’s July 31 action followed government findings from those investigations and resulted in dismissals, suspensions and additional investigative orders affecting airport, police, NSA and LDEA personnel.
The investigation involving former LDEA Officer-in-Charge Fitzgerald T. M. Biago remains separate.
President Boakai previously removed Biago from the LDEA leadership and indefinitely suspended him from the Liberia National Police after a Justice Ministry review identified alleged ethical transgressions and ordered a deeper investigation.
No newer official report resolving the Biago investigation was located in this review.
Dean’s case has become a direct test of whether Liberia’s cocaine investigations will reach security officials accused of compromising the process.
The government has already dismissed him.
The unresolved question is criminal accountability.
If prosecutors formally charge Dean, the case will move from administrative discipline to judicial scrutiny of the alleged US$10,000 payment.
If authorities decide against prosecution, public pressure will grow for the LNP and Ministry of Justice to explain what the investigation established and why the reported admission did not produce charges.
The next material development to watch is a formal criminal referral, indictment, arrest, court appearance or release of the investigation findings involving Dean.
