The Police have arrested eight people, including the suspected kingpin behind the forgery of land titles, transcripts, birth certificates and currencies.
During an operation carried out by the Directorate of Crime Intelligence led by Brig. Gen. Christopher Ddamulira, operatives arrested Ronald Mukasa, 42, who is said to be the leader of the racket.
According to the Police, the suspects were found in possession of 800 forged land titles for prime properties in Kampala, Jinja, Wakiso, Mbarara and Mukono districts.
Additionally, fake educational certificates, including Uganda Certificate of Education and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education, as well as numerous counterfeit birth certificates, were seized.
Operatives seized stashes of counterfeit notes including South Sudanese pounds, Central African francs, Ghanaian cedis, United Arab Emirates dirhams, Uganda shilling, US dollars, euros and Kuwaiti dinars.
We have learnt that Damulira’s team was joined by operatives from six other countries to carry out the operation in Kampala, which targeted an extensive counterfeiting network.
The operation ended last week with a raid on a facility along Nasser Road, a renowned printing hub in Kampala’s city centre.
Police confiscated materials used in the forgery including liquids, printers and machinery.
According to the Police, the fake currency racket has US citizens as accomplices who help in counterfeiting and distribution of dollars.
When contacted, the US Mission in Uganda public affairs counsellor, Ellen Masi, said: “We are not aware of any such operation.”
Dennis Obbo, the lands ministry spokesperson, said the issue of fraud and forgeries involving persons from outside the ministry is something that has been giving the entity challenges. “If the people doing it have been arrested, then it is a very big step for the ministry in eliminating forged titles, which has caused many people losses,” Obbo said.
The Uganda National Examinations Board spokesperson, Jennifer Kalule Musamba, did not answer our repeated calls.
THE SUSPECTS
Besides Mukasa, a resident of Kawempe-Kutaano in Kampala, Police also arrested Ronald Ogadi, 24, from Nateete in Rubaga; Abdul Mayanja, 39, from Makindye-Ssabagabo in Wakiso district; Shadiah Nanjuki,42, from Najjanankumbi along Entebbe Road; and Brian Abaho, 29, from Ndejje in Wakiso.
Others are: Geey Mugumya, 29, from Najjera in Nakawa division; Rodgers Segwayi, 21, from Kitintale in Nakawa division and Joel Kagame, 29, from Ndejje in Wakiso.
HOW OPERATION STARTED
A senior security officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that the operation was prompted by complaints from the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
These countries reported that their economies were being severely impacted by an influx of counterfeit currencies that were suspected to be coming from Uganda.
“We took action after receiving complaints from the Central African Republic and South Sudan about a group that was crippling their economies by flooding them with fake currencies.
The month-long operation finally yielded results with the raid on their facility,” the officer said.
Deputy Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said the suspects were still undergoing interrogation.
“The suspects are currently being interrogated, and we are working on gathering more information about their operations and the extent of their network,” he said.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the crackdown on counterfeit currencies highlights the persistent challenge of financial fraud that affects not only Uganda but also other nations.
Police have since applauded the international cooperation in this operation and emphasised the importance of cross-border collaboration in combating such criminal activities.
