A stolen iPhone worth millions of shillings has led police investigators into a suspected network dealing in snatched mobile phones, with three people arrested in Kampala and links emerging to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The investigation began after a businesswoman was robbed of an iPhone Pro Max valued at about Shs5.7 million on August 29 near Capital Shoppers, opposite Makerere University Business School (MUBS) in Nakawa.
What initially appeared to be a street robbery has since developed into a wider investigation into how stolen phones are moved from Kampala and allegedly passed through intermediaries before being transported across Uganda’s borders.
Police say investigators used CCTV footage and information from human sources to trace one of the suspects. Hassan Semujju was arrested on September 2 and, according to police, admitted involvement in the robbery before leading investigators to an alleged middleman, Fred Sitakange.
Police later arrested Sitakange, who investigators say provided information that led to the arrest of Jeam Marie Namegabe, a Congolese national suspected of receiving stolen phones and facilitating their transportation to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Luke Owoyesigyire, the Deputy Public Relations Officer for Kampala Metropolitan Police, said the investigation was continuing to establish the full extent of the network.
The arrests have also brought previous cases involving the suspects under scrutiny.
Police describe Semujju as a repeat offender who had previously been arrested over mobile-phone theft, while Sitakange had earlier been arrested in connection with a bank fraud case.
According to preliminary police findings, Namegabe told investigators that he receives large quantities of stolen iPhones from contacts for onward transportation to the DRC.
Police also recovered three iPhones from Sitakange, which he allegedly failed to account for before admitting that they had been stolen.
The investigation remains open as detectives work to establish how many people are involved in the suspected network, how the phones are sourced and how they are moved across the border.
Police say further arrests are expected as investigators pursue other individuals believed to be involved in phone snatching and the trafficking of stolen mobile phones.
