The Ugandan police have arrested 41 people, including 28 foreigners, in the capital Kampala in an operation aimed at eliminating criminals from the city before the Commonwealth summit slated for late November.
Edward Ochom, Regional Police Commander Kampala Extra, was quoted by state-owned New Vision on Friday as saying the Interpol had been alerted about the aliens, who could have committed serious crimes in their home countries.
"People think they can come and stay here without any documents. We will not accept this," he said flanked by top city police officers.
He said the illegal immigrants would be charged with illegal entry, stay and theft.
The foreigners arrested include 15 Congolese, three Rwandans, one Somali, eight Tanzanians and a Kenyan.
Police said the suspects are part of a group of people who have been booking hotel rooms and duplicating keys which they then use to steal property from other occupants. They said the racket operates within Kampala, Nairobi (Kenya) and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Police recovered master keys, used to open locks, soap used to get the shape of the keys before fabrication, access cards and tablets suspected to contain chloroform which they use to sedate their victims.
David Magara, the commander of the Rapid Response Unit of the Police that carried out the operation early this week, said suspects can tamper with modern access cards.
"The keys are divided into lower group, middle class and high class. They can go anywhere in the world."
Uganda expects to host over 5,000 guests who will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting later this year, thus making them potential targets of these criminals.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article