Rising forex bureaux burglary worries police
Forex bureaux. Mr Owoyesigyire urged financial institutions to establish branches in buildings that meet minimum security standards. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- KCCA. Police said this week, they will communicate to Kampala Capital City Authority to ensure that landlords keep copies of all their tenants’ official documents, including mobile phone contacts, photographs and national identity cards.
Kampala. Criminals are now renting shops near targeted forex bureaux before drilling holes in the walls and stealing the money in the safe at night.
The deputy police spokesperson Kampala Metropolitan, Mr Luke Owoyesigyire, said the crime is new and they have registered three incidents in Kampala’s central business district in two months.
“In all the three incidents, the criminals rented shops near the forex bureaux and then pretended to be carrying out renovation. But deep in the night, they drilled the wall and gained access to bureaux safes that they cut using gas and stole money valued in millions of shillings,” Mr Owoyesigyire said yesterday.
He declined to name the affected financial institutions and the amount lost in the heist but said they all had rented in arcades.
Mr Owoyesigyire said in all incidents, the criminals have abandoned the rented shops as soon as they have carried out heist.
“We have not arrested any suspect because the landlords don’t have details of the tenants’ contacts or photographs. The ones they left behind are non-existent. We are investigating from scratch,” he said.
Most forex bureaux only deploy security guards at the entrance.
There are fears that the criminals could use the style to carry out theft of other shops that deal in mobile money and expensive items such as watches, jewellery, firearms and clothes.
Mr Owoyesigyire urged financial institutions to establish branches in buildings that meet minimum security standards.
“We also appeal the bankers not to leave large amounts of money in the bureaux because they are the magnet for these criminals. They should ensure that they bank the money in financial institutions that have 24-hour surveillance,” he said.
Mr Owoyesigyire said managers of buildings should monitor new tenants as they renovate their shops and they should encourage them to do it during day when their neighbours are around.
Security measures
KCCA. Police said this week, they will communicate to Kampala Capital City Authority to ensure that landlords keep copies of all their tenants’ official documents, including mobile phone contacts, photographs and national identity cards.
