Lovers fake kidnap to extort cash

KAMPALA.

A 19-year-old woman alleged to have been kidnapped in Bushenyi District five days ago, has been found by police in Kampala in a case detectives say was an extortion ploy.
Peace Ansimire, 19, a daughter of the Rev Fred Muhwezi, was traced by Flying Squad Unit operatives to Kawaala near Kasubi, Rubaga Division in Kampala.
The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Mr Luke Owoyesigire, said two male suspects linked to the kidnap were arrested in the same operation and are detained at Kampala Central Police Station. They were demanding Shs3.5m ransom.
“We discovered that one of the suspects was dating the suspected kidnap victim. The woman and her lover connived to extort money from her parents by pretending she had been kidnapped. They intended to use the Shs3.5m ransom to start a business and later get married,” Mr Owoyesigire said yesterday.
But the suspects were not sophisticated enough as police used phone tracking system to trace and get them arrested.
The operatives sent the suspected kidnappers Shs750,000 and when they cashed the money, the operatives quickly cordoned the area and arrested the duo.
“We recovered Shs250,000 of the ransom from the two suspects,” Mr Owoyesigire said.
He said the duo revealed where the alleged victim was and she was rescued.
During interrogation, the suspects told police officers that they willingly moved with the alleged victim from Bushenyi to Kampala.
The victim did not contradict the suspects.
Mr Owoyesigire said the two male suspects are being held on kidnap charges as they consult whether to charge them together with the kidnap victim.
The case is one of the latest in which people connive to extort ransom from relatives on pretences that they are kidnapped.
Last week, Mariam Uwase, 21, staged her own kidnap with the intention of extorting Shs25m from her boyfriend, who Flying Squad operatives traced to an apartment she was peacefully staying in.