A Guinean national, who was arrested at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) after trying to use a fake US passport bearing the number 504690751 to enter the country yesterday, appeared at the Monrovia City Court to answer to his multiple charges.
Sarul Kromah, 28, according to the story, paid US$500 to a person only identified as Mbo to obtain travel documents including the US passport to enable him to enter Liberia from Casablanca, Morocco.
But it was later discovered by security personnel that the passport in question had been issued earlier to one Suleiman Kalifala.
Kromah was arrested on June 16 by officers of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (BIN) upon arrival at RIA and has been held without bail at the Monrovia Central Prison to await trial.
Kromah now faces multiple charges including theft of property, being in possession of a fraudulent visa, illegal entry and falsification of entry documents.
The accused, a legal expert told this newspaper, may likely be freed before the end of the week, “because the crimes are bailable offenses of which several insurance companies are waiting to secure his bond actually for financial gain.
“Although they may not know whether or not the defendant has any other criminal record than the crimes being allegedly committed, what they are interested in is the fee that family members of the accused may pay to them for the bond,” the source observed.
“This has been the companies’ usual habit of securing bonds for people whose characters they do not know,” he added.
According to the source, it is believed that defendant Kromah may have been authorized by the owner of the passport, Kalifala, to use it for that purpose.
“The BIN investigating authority did not explain whether the defendant had any relationship with Kalifala before using the passport from Morocco to Liberia,” our source maintained.