Police Links Rampant Cash Robberies to Inside Job

More than One Billion Shillings has been robbed from companies and traders in Kampala and its neighbouring districts. However police detectives have since noticed that in all the latest robbery incidents involving huge sums of money it has been handwork of insiders.

A few days ago, armed men hijacked a Chinese Toyota Harrier carrying 200 million Shillings to the Bank at Buwama town, in Mpigi District. Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga, said the four thugs diverted the Harrier and its Chinese occupants up to Kyabadaza village where they robbed them clean.

“The Chinese were taking the money for Banking but they were intercepted by four armed men. They robbed them of their money worth 200 million shillings including their mobile phones. They could not receive the intelligence without the involvement of insiders,” Enanga said.

The Buwama incident came five days after thugs broke into Assured Forex Bureau at Titanic Building on Johnson Street in Kampala and stole 220 million shillings.

A detective at Kampala Central Police says that their preliminary investigations have pointed at the possible involvement of insiders. The robbers first rented a room opposite the Forex Bureau and brought in equipment disguising as if they were going to renovate their newly acquired place.

“These thugs seem to have been extensively briefed by insiders of Assured Forex Bureau. Imagine they knew days when money is left in the safe and the exact position where it was being kept. They dug a hall through their rented room up to where the safe was being kept. That can’t be a lonely work of a stranger,” a detective said.

A detective explained to URN that insiders bring in people who claim to be clients and later on become familiar with the place. They get to know days when huge sales are made, hours when dollars are mostly exchanged and time when money is transported to the bank.

“There is a tendency of some traders and companies using different cleaners on daily basis. Some companies hire people without studying why they were fired from their jobs. In some case it is a work of people who have just been fired from their jobs or recruits,” a detective said.

Investigators attribute last month robbery of more than 180 shillings at Midland Complex in Kikaaya, Kawempe Division to close associates to the victim. Sources said thugs were being notified by a person who seemed to be within the vicinity of the building.

“We are yet to conclude with investigations but we have a strong belief it was a robbery that was coordinated by people who were close to the owner of the money and they knew the time he was going to be home with the money,” source said.

Another robbery police are still investigating with suspicion of the handwork of insiders is the robbery of 300 million shillings from three workers of Amal Forex Bureau in Kisenyi, Kampala. The trio identified as Abdul Fatal Ahmed, the manager, Hassan Ahmed, the assistant manager, and Ismael Muhammed, the cashier was waylaid at Nakivuubo by a group of four thugs who sped off on motorcycles.

Luke Owoyesigyire, the deputy Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson, said the trio was waylaid when they had left their office in Kisenyi in a Toyota Wish registration number UBD 448 Y and withdrew 380 million Shillings from DTB Bank Equatorial Mall branch.

Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, says that people who often transact huge amounts of money they need to first secure their workplaces by installing CCTV cameras and employing security guards whose background they have researched about.

Police also encourages people to always use their personnel when they are transporting big amounts of money. Alternatively, the public is encouraged to always hire bullion vans when moving millions of monies.

“You find someone moving 500 million shillings but he can’t spend little to hire a bullion van. Some first tell colleagues that they are going to bank money. That is very wrong. Keep changing days and time when you transport money to avoid being predicted,” Onyango said.