How guard masterminded robbery of Shs25m at fuel station
Mack fuel station in Luweero Town Council where the robbery took place on April 2. Photo/Dan wandera
What you need to know:
- The two security guards were reportedly served porridge believed to have been laced with chloroform by their colleague, Bernard Otim, who is on the run.
Police in Luweero District are on a manhunt for a security guard and his accomplices in the robbery of Shs24.8m at a fuel station located in Market Zone, Kasana Town in Luweero Town Council.
The incident happened on April 2.
Mr Sam Twineamazima, the Savannah regional police spokesperson, said preliminary investigations show that the security guard connived with suspected robbers who came to Mack fuel station under the guise of fuelling their car.
“We suspect that the security guard was the mastermind of the robbery because he reportedly served porridge laced with chloroform to the other two guards at the station shortly before the other thugs invaded the station in the early morning hours of Tuesday,” he said.
The thugs, according to police, were dressed in civilian clothes and pretended to purchase fuel amounting to Shs50,000. The thugs then surrounded the pump attendant demanding money. The security guard joined the thugs and threatened to shoot the pump attendant.
The thugs then reportedly tied up two other fuel station workers with ropes before they ransacked the office and took Shs24.8m, laptops, and agency mobile phones.
The security guard later abandoned his gun at the fuel station as he and the thugs disappeared with the loot, the police investigation team reveals.
The other two security guards who were found unconscious and rushed to Bishop Asili Hospital in Luweero Town, have been identified by police as Tabitha Labacanda and Angesilas Paddy.
Chloroform
The two were reportedly served porridge believed to have been laced with chloroform by their colleague, Bernard Otim, who is on the run.
Unlike many armed robberies, the one at Mark fuel station was executed without any bullet being discharged.
A pump attendant, who was one of the victims of the robbery, said it is likely that the thugs did not come with a firearm, but were backed up by the security guard at the station.
“We had our hands tied with ropes and ordered to sit on the ground as the other thugs accessed the office, looting the cash, laptops, and mobile phones. They were all dressed in civilian clothes,” he said.
Background
A total of Shs7.29 billion was robbed at different places in the country according to the 2023 annual police crime report.
Only Shs102m was recovered by the police of the 551 cases registered during the year. In Luweero, the police registered 119 robbery cases, a rise from the 93 cases registered during the year 2022.
