Police at Uganda’s Entebbe airport has arrested nine people, including one Kenyan and a Congolese national for being involved in a fake gold deal.
Uganda Police deputy spokesperson Patrick Onyango said on Tuesday the fake deal was worth 160,000 U.S. dollars.
Items recovered included rolls of brass rods, a fake gold refinery machinery, forged trade licences and stamps among others.
The suspects include Samson Wesonga Onyango, a Kenyan and Manda Mponyi, Congolese. The others are Dorcus Chibasi, Godfrey Kadimba, Immaculate Nsimire, Bachigeya Milenge, Rajiv, Hagen Sadik and Mustafah Ahongeze, some of whose nationalities are yet to be identified.
Onyango said the arrests followed an earlier report at Entebbe airport in which a Sudanese national lost 10kg of gold.
The suspects are currently detained by Aviation Police team in Entebbe to assist in the investigation process.
Onyango warned the public against their involvement in dubious or suspicious deals.
“Take note that gold is best verified through a laboratory test,” he advised.
Police statistics indicate that cases of gold fraud increased by more than 200 percent in the past one year in Uganda. About 65 of such cases were reported between April 2017 and March 2018 compared to the 21 between April 2016 and March 2017. Enditem
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
