7 Police Officers under Armed Robbery Probe

Police authorities in Monrovia say they have turned over seven senior officers to the Major Crimes Unit to be investigated after their names were mentioned to be allegedly involved in facilitating armed robbery.

A statement authorized by Police Spokesman Sam Collins on Wednesday, 3 February, said Commissioner Jessey Harris, Assistant Commissioner of Police Edwin T. Swen, Supt. Jonney B. Dean, Inspector Raffel Wilson, Inspector John Kollie, as well as Detectives Varney Samah, Alexander Jabbah and Sam Ballah of the Crime Services Department have already been suspended with immediate effect.

According to Mr. Collins, the seven officers were recently turned over by Police Director Col. Clarence Massaquoi to the Major Crime Unit to be investigated after being accused of allegedly facilitating armed robbery.

“The Administration of the Liberia National Police has announced with immediate effect the suspension off the job of seven senior police officers linked to allegation of facilitating armed robbery,” the statement said Wednesday.

The suspended officers have been ordered to turn over all properties of the Government of Liberia in their possession to the Human Resource Section of the Liberia National Police. The action of the LNP comes as a result of the submission of a recent administrative investigative report to the Ministry of Justice on 19 January.

The LNP also ordered the Coordinator of the Major Crime Unit, Col. AL Karlay, to submit a written report explaining circumstances surrounding the leakage of the report to the public. According to Mr. Collins, the LNP Administration, in separate communication addressed to the suspended officers, admonished them to desist from identifying with the organization pending the outcome of the investigation by the Ministry of Justice.

-Edited by George Barpeen