Police in Karenga district in Northern Uganda have in custody a passenger who was arrested with a bag containing over 145 bullets on a Robolyn Bus that was coming from Kitgum and heading to Kaabong district.
According to Michael Longole, Mt. Moroto regional police spokesperson, the passenger identified as Lucky Daniel Lokong was found with a bag carrying the 145 bullets when security authorities inspected the bus at the checkpoint in Kapedo sub-county, Karenga district.
“The preliminary information indicates that the suspect moved with the ammunition from Karenga district to Lolelia sub-county in Kaabong with the intention of selling them to cattle rustlers,” Longole said.
Longole further says that due to the porous borderlines between Kenya and South Sudan, security officials have struggled to keep illegal firearms out of the region.
He also explained that it is the second time security personnel at the Kapedo checkpoint have intercepted ammunition, the last being in September 2022, when they arrested two men who had hidden a gun inside a bag of maize.
Security has for years tried to strengthen vigilance at every security checkpoint to fight arms trafficking and other related transportation of illegal properties, and in 2022, the local leaders in the region tasked the government with investigating the supply of ammunition and security uniforms to the Karamojong cattle rustlers.