Bank robbers arrested after one-month hunt

Military police officers arrest a boda boda rider suspected of being involved in a bank robbery in Kololo on Monday. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

Flying Squad operatives started a hunt which culminated in the arrest of the first suspect who is a friend to the prime suspect who entered the bank

KAMPALA.
Police have finally arrested five people accused of robbing Diamond Trust Bank Nakivubo Branch after a one-month hunt.

The five suspects include a security guard at the branch who provided cover for the suspects to rob the bank. Two other suspects are still on the run.
The suspects’ names have been withheld until full investigations are carried out and they are presented in court.

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Patrick Onyango said the accused robbed the bank of Shs52m and by the time they were arrested they had bought property.

“We are holding them on charges of aggravated robbery and illegal possession of a firearm. We have also impounded the vehicle and other property which they bought from the stolen money,” Mr Onyango said.

Police also recovered a gun the suspects used in the robbery that happened on November 15 at around 8pm when the bank officials were winding up business.
The suspects’ faces were captured on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera which helped the police to identify and track them.

Flying Squad operatives started a hunt which culminated in the arrest of the first suspect who is a friend to the prime suspect who entered the bank.
Mr Onyango said the first suspect led the police to the prime suspect who was also arrested and police analysis established he was the one who entered the bank.

The robber entered the banking hall and put the cashiers on gunpoint and ordered them to open the cash room.

The bank officials opened the room and handed over the money to him. He then stormed out of the bank and disappeared before police arrived at the scene.

“When we asked him how he was able to know that there was money in the bank and where he got the gun which he used in the robbery, he revealed that “a security guard was the mastermind of the plot”.

Flying Squad operatives swiftly arrested the guard but found he had already used the money to buy personal property.

The police have had successful operations against armed robbers in the last two weeks.

Other cases which police has uncovered
On Monday:

Police shot dead two suspected robbers and arrested one in Kololo, a Kampala suburb.
Last Friday: Police shot dead five robbers and arrested three other suspects in Busega, a Kampala suburb where they had attempted to rob a supermarket at night.
Last month:

Police shot dead two armed robbers in Kasese District.
Violent crimes are often high during the Christmas period especially on highways and in shops because of the boost in sales due to the festive season.
In 2013: 3,620 cases of both aggravated and simple robbery were investigated, compared to 4,194 cases in 2012. Of the 3,620 cases, 1,035 included use of firearms.