UPDF soldiers recover five stolen cars in crackdown
Recovered cars paraded at UPDF 5th Division headquarters in Lira. Courtesy photo
What you need to know:
- When contacted, the UPDF 5th Division spokesman Lt Hammed Hassan Kato confirmed the recovery of the cars and the arrest of suspects connected to the crime.
Five stolen vehicles were on Saturday recovered from Lira town during a joint operation to crackdown on car theft in Lira and Soroti towns.
The operation was spearheaded by Internal Security Organization (ISO) and Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF), following concerns over rampant cases of car theft in the area.
The recovered cars include; Toyata Premio UAT 702E (grey) allegedly stolen from Gulu, Toyota Noah number UBD 141K (dark blue) allegedly stolen from Amuru District, Premio UAX 651Y, Noah UAR 593T and a Super Custom.
Three of the stolen vehicles were recovered from Soroti while two were recovered from Lira town.
An ISO operatives who declined to be named said that intelligence information for the past three weeks indicated that car thieves had pitched camp in Lira town which increased car theft cases in the region.
“We have arrested several suspects and the next thing is to find out how and where they trade these cars,” he said, adding: “Among the suspects we have arrested is one who identifies a specific car to be stolen and the one who would look for the market of the car.”
When contacted, the UPDF 5th Division spokesman Lt Hammed Hassan Kato confirmed the recovery of the cars and the arrest of suspects connected to the crime.
“We have the suspects with us as investigations continue. We hope to arrest other people in the racket,” Lt Kato said.
He said that the suspects will be handed over to police for further management once they are done with their investigations.
“I am calling upon car owners to remain vigilant and if possible they must install GPS or other tracking devices in their cars to ease tracking once they are stolen.”
