A Ministry of Justice investigation has cleared Liberia National Police (LNP) Inspector General Gregory O.W. Coleman of allegations tying him to a bribery scandal that emerged from the country’s record cocaine seizure case. Investigators concluded that the IG Coleman bribery claims circulating in recent days are without factual basis, closing one chapter of a probe that has already reshaped the police force’s senior leadership.
IG Coleman Bribery Claims: What the Investigation Found
According to the Ministry’s findings, a police officer connected to the Joint National Security Investigative Task Force received and kept a sum of money without disclosing it to superiors or to any other member of the task force. Investigators examined whether that transaction reached the Inspector General’s office and reported finding no evidence that Coleman received the funds, authorized their acceptance, directed the transaction, or had any advance knowledge of it.
On that basis, the Ministry concluded that the IG Coleman bribery allegations linking him personally to the incident are false. The finding draws a clear line between the conduct of an individual officer and the leadership of the LNP as an institution, a distinction Liberian authorities have emphasized as the broader cocaine investigation continues.
The Bribery Admission at the Center of the Case
The allegations stem from Liberia’s largest-ever drug seizure, a cocaine consignment recovered at Roberts International Airport with a street value authorities have put in the hundreds of millions of dollars. As the Joint Security investigation into that seizure widened, Deputy Commissioner for Crime Services Johnny Bolar Dean was removed from his post after admitting to receiving roughly $10,000 from individuals connected to the case. Coleman said Dean was not accused of trafficking the cocaine itself but of compromising the investigation by extending assistance to suspects already in custody.
Dean has since been interdicted and turned over to the LNP’s Professional Standards Division for further internal review, with police officials indicating that the matter could still lead to prosecution.
Coleman’s Response to the Bribery Case
Speaking to reporters after the Ministry’s findings were released, Coleman reiterated that the integrity of the investigation, and of the institution carrying it out, remains his priority. He has previously stated that anyone found to have compromised the case, regardless of rank, would face the full weight of the law. The IG Coleman bribery clearance is the second time in recent weeks that Coleman has publicly pushed back on claims touching his office, having earlier denied separate bribery allegations raised in connection with last year’s Capitol Building arson case.
Public reaction in Monrovia has been mixed. Some commentators have welcomed the Ministry’s finding as evidence that the LNP’s internal accountability mechanisms are functioning, while others have called for continued scrutiny of the broader drug case as it moves toward possible prosecutions.
What Happens Next in the Investigation
The Ministry of Justice’s clearance of the IG Coleman bribery claims does not close the underlying cocaine investigation, which authorities say remains active. Investigators are continuing to trace financial transactions and other evidence connected to the seizure, and officials have signaled that further arrests are possible as the Professional Standards Division completes its review of Dean’s conduct.
For now, the finding removes the Inspector General from the center of the bribery controversy and shifts attention back to the individual officer at the heart of the admitted payment, as well as to the traffickers behind the record seizure itself.
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Sources: FrontPageAfrica, AllAfrica