Police have arrested one Allan Ggayi, who is suspected to be part of a gang that raided Kawempe retail and mobile money shops stealing over 160 telephones.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Patrick Onyango says that Ggayi, a resident of Kyanja was intercepted at Bujuuko, along the Kampala –Mityana highway with 160 phones, allegedly stolen from different mobile money operators and retail shops in Kawempe and other towns.
He was moving in a Toyota Alex registration number UBE 641A in the company of one Tonny Sozzi, who, however, escaped arrest. Ggayi was transferred to Kawempe police station, pending charges of robbery and theft.
Onyango said Ggayi revealed that they were targeting mobile money agents by pretending that they are either withdrawing or depositing money. In that process, Ggayi said they would exchange their phones with the agent or steal the agent’s phone without his or her knowledge.
Police have appealed to members of the public whose phones were stolen in this manner to report to Kawempe Police station or to the police stations where they had earlier reported the theft of their phones.
In September, police recovered 61 phones in a crackdown on suspected muggers in Nakawa division, Kampala. This followed an operation conducted by Kiwatule Police Station after a confession of a suspected thief that led police to his accomplices.
The thugs led police to the slums of Wabiduku, Kasenyi, Balintuma zone and Kiwatule parish, all in Nakawa division, where they had a ready market for the stolen phones. A subsequent search led to the recovery of 61 mobile phones.
