Police arrest three panga wielding serial robbers, one still at large

Panga wielding men suspected to have attacked a factory in Kabembe in Mukono District, caused grievous harm to investors and robbed over Shs100 million have been arrested, Police say.

The suspects were found armed with machetes and arrested as they planned to attack sand miners in Lwera, Lwengo District.

A few weeks ago, a gang of unidentified men allegedly attacked a factory belonging to Crane Roofings Limited located in Kyampisi, Mukono District, disarmed the private security guards, cut and left them with severe injuries.

Upon arrest, the two suspects were found in possession of large sums of money suspected to have been stolen from the Indians, an iPhone, a heavy metal cutter among others.

“The suspected ring leader in the Lwera mission, a resident of Yesu Amala, Nansana in Wakiso District was tipped off about the intended arrest, fled the scene and is still at large,” Kampala Metropolitan Police wrote on their Facebook timeline.

The security operatives managed to arrest another suspect, a boda boda rider who said he had been a close associate to the suspected ring leader in terms of money lending.

He told the operatives that he was contacted for financial support by the ring leader who told him of the big mission he was heading for in Lwera.

He agreed to meet the ring leader in Kyengera where he was eventually arrested by security operatives as he waited to deliver the money.

"It’s true we were in the process of executing a mission of robbing money from rich sand miners in Lwera," one of the suspects confessed to Police.

The suspect who has been a fish vendor, sand and car broker in Lwera added that he had been promised a lion's share which would elevate him from poverty to riches once the mission was successfully executed.

The suspects are currently being held at Jinja Road Police Station and are to be charged with aggravated robbery.