BY DAVID MAFABI
KAMPALA
Police have revealed that the rampant car thefts and robberies in the country have partly been aided by businessmen who deal in scrap cars within and out of Kampala city.
Addressing the security press briefing, Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said that the department of crime intelligence has established that some unscrupulous car dealers abet car thefts and robberies in the country.
He said that the dealers sell number plates of cars that were written off due to accidents or those in a dangerous mechanical condition which are then dismantled into scrap.
“We wish to send a very serious warning to proprietors to garages, actively involved in the buying of number plates of accident vehicles that are written off or number plates from car-shop dealers and sell them to criminal gangs behind motor vehicle theft,” Mr. Enanga said.
He told the Media that a number plate costs from shs 400,000 onwards before warning them to hand over such number plates to URA. Ends
It is said that they confessed to changing the original plates with cloned number plates ( a process they call baptizing) and selling the stolen cars to one, Kisule Juma alias Jajja Mbale alias Muwada Juma alias Walusimbi Juma alias Wambedde.
The operation was expanded to Mbale with the help of the two suspects and led to the recovery of 16 motor vehicles in total, that are suspected stolen, from different parts of the country.
The vehicles were transferred to crime intelligence offices in Bukoto and police are calling whoever has lost a car in the recent past to go and view them.
Meanwhile, the police spokesperson said that the task team is arranging to submit the engine numbers, chassis numbers, and recovered number plates to URA for further verification and details of ownership.
“The arrest of the two prime suspects demonstrates our resolve and commitment to fight motor vehicle theft and robberies in the country,” he said as a serious manhunt for the other accomplices is still ongoing. Ends
