10 Crime Intelligence Police officers based at Katwe Police Station have been nabbed for allegedly fleecing stolen Ugx 146 million from suspected thieves in Kampala.
According to Police, the suspected thieves on April 27th this year, grabbed Ugx 407 M from a Burundian national immediately after he exited a forex bureau in Makindye. The onlookers volunteered to contact the police, who rushed to the scene to kickstart the investigation.
However, according to sources close to the police, the contacted detectives investigating the case never used the proper police procedures; without notifying their superiors or opening a case file in line with standard police case handling procedure, the next day they tracked the suspects to Gangu, Masajja, in Makindye Division.
The officers recovered the unspent cash from the place of abode of the suspects, whom they arrested and booked at Katwe Police Station. They then, as required by procedure, turned the case over to their counterparts in the Criminal Investigations Directorate.
Chaos erupted at the station as the arrested suspects told the interrogators that the arresting officers had declared less money than they had recovered from them. This prompted the immediate arrest of these officers moments later, and their homes searched.
“When the suspects were interrogated, they revealed that the officers who arrested them recovered $50,000 (Shs185 million) and Euro500 (Shs2.1 million), but officers declared to the police only $20,000 (Shs74 million) and Euro120 (Shs504,000),” SP Patrick Onyango the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson said.
Police revealed that a case of aggravated robbery was opened against the police officers, who were released after 48 hours of detention.