Many Gambians, including alleged victims, have continued to cry out against recent alleged operations carried out by a notorious criminal, Karanta Darboe, who has been convicted and jailed on several occasions for stealing.
On Monday, Star GSM alleged that Karanta had defrauded one of its staff using counterfeit monies to purchase Spark 10 Pro phones worth D34,500.
On Friday, owners of a Forex Bureau at Wellingara Cash Power Junction, in a CCTV Camera, made similar allegations against Karanta of defrauding them by giving them fake 85,000 CFA in exchange for D41,000. The notorious criminal, who is alleged to be using a four-wheel drive car and identifying himself as a semester, is believed to have many fake currencies of different countries.
Speaking to The Point, Lamin Kaba, CEO of Star GSM, narrated that the alleged thief came to his place with a four-wheel drive car. He added that the alleged culprit didn't alight from his car; he instead sent for the teller.
"He told our staff that he was a semester and asked if he could take dollars instead of dalasis. He gave the staff $500 to purchase Spark 10 Pro phones worth of D34,500. Our staff asked him to wait for the receipt. Unfortunately, when our staff got in to prepare the receipt, he found out that the man had already left," Kaba narrated the mishap.
"Many people told me it's only Karanta Darboe who does such an operation. His photos were sent to me for identification purposes and my staff was quick to recognise him in both pictures. He was also able to identify the scars on his forehead and above his lip," he said.
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He advises his colleagues in the business to avoid selling to customers who stay in their cars and to crosscheck and confirm any currency given to them before business transaction. Asked whether he reported the matter to the police, Kaba confirmed calling the Kairaba Police Station, saying he would go to give his statement.
Mr Kaba said he would go all out to discourage such criminal acts in the society and would spend whatever it takes to seek redress at the court.
"Anyone conniving with the alleged culprit is putting the country into a problem," he said, calling on Gambians to report the whereabouts of Karanta.
Alieu Samateh, social media influencer, told this medium that the reason for the continued financial crimes in the Gambian society is lack of proper security measures. A person who had been convicted several times could be a threat to society and shouldn't be let free without proper monitoring by security intelligence, he said.
"Gambians should be assured of a safe environment to operate businesses without financial fraud from criminals," he affirmed. "Anyone found wanting should be dealt with according to the laws of the country."
Jarai Sarjo, for his part, is concerned about how the alleged culprit gets his counterfeits, saying there could be many fake currencies now circulating in the country.
"Imagine giving fake money to the illiterate market vendor; obviously he/she wouldn't know. That means those fake monies will keep circulating and anybody can be a victim of such a fraud," he stated.
More than two thousand people have also made similar comments on What's On Gambia, expressing their dissatisfaction with tricks of the alleged criminal and why he was released from Mile II Central Prison.
