One arrested, three on the run
KAMPALA. One of the four Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) deserters has been arrested by Flying Squad Unit (FSU) operatives over robbery of Shs130m from a cooperative savings and credit union in Rushere, Kiruhura District.
The deserter who was released in November 2018 after a 10-year jail term over highway robbery, was arrested in Kampala City and Shs20m recovered.
Superintendent of Police Vincent Ssekatte, the spokesman for the directorate of criminal investigations said the four suspects travelled from Kampala City on Sunday and executed the burglary after they sedated the Sacco guards’ food.
“After the guards fell asleep, they broke into the building and stole the money. We got information later and started a manhunt. We have so far arrested one suspect. He bought some household items using the stolen money. All those items have been impounded,” SP Ssekatte said.
He further noted that the hunt for the other three suspects is still ongoing.
“We have identified three suspects on the run and there is hope that they will also be arrested and recover the money. We are also in the process of verifying whether the suspects had firearms,” he said.
Police are yet to decide on whether they should hand over the suspect to the army or try him in civilian court.
FSU report of the last six months of 2018 shows that firearms of security personnel are being used in criminal acts.
According to a report Daily Monitor published on February 18, 11 out of 20 guns recovered from the criminals between July 1 and December 31, 2018 belonged to the UPDF while five were from the Uganda Prisons Service and three from Uganda Police Force.
Last year, President Museveni ordered the deployment of soldiers in urban areas to help carry out patrols to curb armed violence.
After a series of shootings of high profile people, Mr Museveni ordered police to “fingerprint” all guns in the country to enable investigators detect suspects in case government owned firearms are used in crime.
The process is still ongoing.
