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Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Police are holding Richard Mbasa, a renowned cobbler in Wobulenga cell in Mafubira ward in Jinja city on accusations of aiding number plate thefts in Busoga sub region.
Mbasa, who is currently in custody at Kiira central police station was arrested following leads from suspects involved in the racket of number plate thefts arrested by detectives last week.
According to police investigations, Mbasa has been masquerading as a cobbler tocover-up for his criminal activities because he was using some of his tools including knives, hammers and tack pullers among others to pluck number plates from the vehicles of his unsuspecting victims.
On Thursday last week, police arrested Cleophas Opendi, the chairperson of Rulowo village in Kisoko sub-county, in Tororo district on allegations of coordinating operations of number plate thefts within Eastern Uganda.
He was arrested together with his niece Gertrude Namutosi, whom he was conniving with to fleece money from their victims after stealing their number plates. A detective privy to this matter told URN on condition of anonymity that Opendi revealed that Mbasa was coordinating a racket of street children who use pliers and other sharp objects to pluck number plates from vehicles normally parked along streets for long hours.
“Mbasa normally pays off-street children whose major role is to monitor the movements of seemingly wealthy individuals, who park their vehicles along the different streets for long hours, pluck off their number plates and then hand them over to Mbasa,” he said.
Kiira Region Police Spokesperson James Mubi says that they recovered master keys and other breaking implements from the suspect’s residence.
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