Africa-Press – Uganda. Three Americans, who are victims in a Shs37b gold scam that allegedly involved high profile security personnel and lawyers, have survived a kidnap attempt at a popular Kampala hangout in broad daylight.
The trio was at Village Mall Bugolobi in Nakawa Division, when more than five men, who introduced themselves as security personnel, surrounded them and attempted to arrest them on a fake criminal offence on Wednesday at around 3pm.Mr Charles Twiine, the spokesperson of the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), confirmed that the victims have reported a case of attempted kidnap at police and investigations into the matter have already started.“They have recorded statements and we have obtained the footage on what happened. The suspects have been positively identified and the process of pursuing them has started,” Mr Twiine said yesterday.
The victims have been staying in Uganda as police investigate the alleged theft of their gold and also being cheated them of their money between 2019 and 2020. Several security personnel from intelligence units, civilians and lawyers have since been interrogated for allegedly participating in the crime.In the Wednesday incident, the five men in civilian clothes approached the American nationals, saying they were investigating them on an offence that they ate food at a restaurant in Munyonyo, Makindye Division, and did not pay. The five men attempted to drag the foreign nationals into a waiting car, which they resisted.
Mr Twiine said : “They called CID headquarters for help and a police officer asked the victims to give the phone to the men so that he could talk to them. The suspects realised that they had been detected, so they retreated one by one from the scene,” he said.The victims took off to CID headquarters Kibuli where they sought protection.Looking backIn, 2019, the two US businessmen allegedly bought gold in Cameroon worth $5b, which was to be transported to Canada via Nairobi. The gold bars were later swapped with aluminium bars in Uganda and when the businessmen came here U to recover the gold, they were defrauded of more money, hence reporting to police.
