Police recover rifle stolen from security guard in Nwoya district
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On Thursday, while pursuing two suspected robbers who had attempted to rob a businessman in Kochgoma Town Council, police said the suspects managed to evade arrest but discarded the rifle in the process
Police in Nwoya District have recovered a rifle that was stolen from a security guard on Monday, March 17, while he was on duty at a fuel station in Kochgoma Town Council.
On Thursday, while pursuing two suspected robbers who had attempted to rob a businessman in Kochgoma Town Council, police said the suspects managed to evade arrest but discarded the rifle in the process.
Mr Reagan Magombe, the Nwoya District Police Commander, confirmed to Daily Monitor that the firearm recovered from the suspects was the same one that had been taken from security guard Peter Mutseke earlier in the week.
“We have achieved a significant breakthrough. Our teams conducted enhanced operations yesterday and thwarted the perpetrators’ escape plans, which led to the recovery of the firearm used in yesterday’s aggravated robbery,” Mr Magombe said.
He also revealed that a third suspect in the Thursday incident, whom he declined to name to avoid jeopardizing investigations, is a UPDF deserter who has been arrested and is currently being interrogated at Nwoya Central Police Station.
Preliminary investigations have confirmed that the firearm used in Thursday’s aggravated robbery is the same one stolen from the private security guard at Koch Oil Petrol Station in Kochgoma Town Council.
On Tuesday, police arrested four individuals in connection with the theft of the rifle from Mr Mutseke, after allegedly intoxicating him on Monday.
Mutseke, a private guard with Reserve Protection Services, had collected his firearm from Kochgoma Police Station the previous evening before reporting for duty at the fuel station.
After regaining consciousness, Mutseke informed the station’s pump attendant, Denis Otim, who rushed him to Flama Medical Center for treatment. Otim later reported the incident to the police.
Police were alerted at 8:00 AM and responded by securing the crime scene and deploying a canine unit from Gulu Central Police Station (CPS) to track the suspects.
"Through intelligence-led operations, four suspects have been arrested to aid the investigation," said Reagan Magombe, the Nwoya District Police Commander (DPC).
Initially, police detained Mutseke on suspicion that he may have colluded with the attackers.
