Two arrested over car number plate theft in Fort Portal city

Police in Fort Portal city, in Western Uganda, have arrested one man and a woman over allegations of theft of car registration plates and extortion from residents.

The Rwenzori West regional police commander, Mr Norman Musinga, said on Monday that the duo was arrested by a joint team of security operatives and they found the man sleeping in one of the guest houses in Kisenyi Fort Portal who later led them where they were hiding the stolen number plates.

He said upon interrogation, they recovered 13 pairs of number plates and 1 which was not paired.

“This follows numerous complaints from residents about the rising number of plate thefts by unknown people who leave behind their telephone numbers demanding mobile money before giving back the plates,” he said.

He said after several hours of questioning, the suspects reportedly revealed to police the different locations in Kamego, Kitumba, and other places in the North Division all in Fort Portal city.

“Number plates theft is a form of smart crime, they started by demanding Shs 50,000 to Shs 200,000 but we want to appeal to the public in case their number plate gets lost, they should report to the police but not pay cash to these thieves because when you pay it means your promoting the business," He said.

He advised the owners to always report to the nearest police so that they can be issued with an official document to present in case they are stopped by traffic police on their journey.

Mr Musinga said they established a team of police officers who will be responsible for cracking down the racket of number plate theft in the Rwenzori region saying similar cases have been reported to districts of Kyenjojo and Kyegegwa.

According to police, thieves after stealing the number plate, leave behind the contact and also connive with mobile money agents to withdraw the money from victims.

Once victims make contact, the masterminds demand that they send cash to them using mobile money before directing the car owners to the location where the registration plates are hidden, which usually is nearby.