By Aisha Tamba
Serial fraudster Karanta Darboe yesterday told a magistrate at the Kanifing courts that whether the junior judge likes it or not, he will be released from detention.
Darboe made the combative assertion as he was being led to detention after the magistrate denied his request to be freed on bail.
He was standing trial for obtaining goods by false pretence and possession of forged dollar notes.
The Sukuta-born scammer has gained notoriety for swindling and has a record of convictions. He is currently undergoing another trial of a similar nature before Magistrate T Bayo of Kanifing court.
Appearing before Magistrate E Colley yesterday, Mr Darboe denied the charges and the matter was adjourned.
However, the prosecution applied to the court to deny him bail on the grounds that in the trial before Magistrate Bayo, Karanta was denied bail but was later granted bail at the high court and that during the bail period he committed another crime.
“The prosecution is of the belief that if the accused is granted bail, he will commit the same offence,” police prosecutor ASP Alpha Badjie told the court.
He said the police prosecution unit has received other files of Karanta’s duplicitous activities which are being processed.
“The court denying him bail will only help him with his personal security. We are afraid some people will take matters into their hands and attack the accused person,” he added.
Karanta challenged the prosecution’s application stating that the offences he has been accused of are bailable.
In his ruling, Magistrate Colley denied him bail.
And as he was being escorted outside the court, Mr Darboe could be heard yelling at the magistrate asserting that no matter what happened, he will be released.
Karanta is facing the law because on May 18 he took two Tecno Spark 10 Pro mobile phones from Star GSM valued at D34,000 and paid with US$500 notes which turned out to be fake.
