KAMPALA – Detectives in Kampala are gathering evidence to establish circumstances under which thugs broke into a city forex bureau and varnished with 220 million shillings.
The theft of the money that was in a safe inside Assured Forex Bureau at Titanic building along Johnson street in the city centre was brought to police attention on Monday by managers who found their offices vandalized.
Patrick Onyango, the Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson said the thugs targeted the offices in the wee hours of the morning. Onyango said preliminary investigations indicate that the culprits first rented an opposite room and disguised as if they were renovating it.
“The forex bureau was broken into on Sunday night by unidentified people who robbed over Shs 220 million,” Onyango said. “The thugs whose number is not known first rented the room next to the bureau pretending that they were also business people.”
A detective said the thugs first studied the area and realized that one of the tenants had moved out of the room opposite the forex bureau. They brought gas cylinders, drills and paint purposely to hoodwink people that they were going to put burglar proofs into their newly acquired room.
“No one was suspicious about the thugs actions as everyone assumed that they were refurbishing their room yet these were the very implements they were preparing to vandalize the forex bureau with,” a detective said.
Onyango said detectives from Kampala metropolitan police headquarters based at Central Police Station –CPS have already embarked on investigations with hope of getting details of whoever participated in the theft of forex bureau money.
“They took that opportunity to drill the wall that separates them and the forex bureau to gain access to the bureau. We have just sent a team of detectives to the scene to record statements from witnesses,” Onyango said.
In August this year, thugs with face masks robbed 300 million Shillings from three workers of Amal Forex Bureau in Kisenyi, Kampala. The money was stolen from Abdul Fatal Ahmed, the manager, Hassan Ahmed, the assistant manager, and Ismael Muhammed, the cashier by thugs who trailed them from Kisenyi up to Nakivubo.