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Tanga RPC cautions on large cash transfers
2007-08-25 09:24:13
By George Sembony, PST, Tanga
The Tanga Regional Police Commander, Nyakoro Sirro has cautioned on large cash transferring without seeking police escort for security purposes, saying the attempts incited robbery in the region.
Citing two recent incidents that occurred early this week, the RPC said the first event involved a branch manager working for a credit organisation, Building Resources Across Communities Branch at Sahare, Margaret Mduda (26), who was robbed of 11.7m/- as she was walking to a branch office within the city.
Commander Sirro said that the incident has all indications of sheer security negligence by the institution.
“How could one move freely with such a big amount of cash without seeking police escort?” he asked, saying that it was sad that security consciousness was not an issue among some residents of Tanga.
One person, Omari Shaaban alias Nassoro (34), a resident of Kinondoni Moscow, who was arrested over another armed robbery incident that took place on August 21, this year, has admitted involvement in the robbery incident.
Mduda has also been nabbed for questioning in connection with the incident.
Others under police custody after being implicated in the robbery include a taxi driver hired by Mduda, Athumani Ali of Makorora and the security guard who was on duty at the branch office, Abdallah Mohamed.
Explaining, Commander Siro said that from the city center, Mduda hired a taxi while holding a bag full of large sums of money heading for the branch office but on the way the taxi driver refused to proceed claiming that his car could not pass across a pool of water.
“It is strange. Mduda decided to take the bag containing 11.7m/- and walked to the branch office, but was robbed before she reached the office.
He called on Tanga residents to seek police escort whenever they transferred large sums of money insisting that the police would provide the escort free of charge.
Giving details on the second incident, the police chief named one Tanga based businessman, Charles Daudi (45) who was robbed of 4.3m/- as he entered his house on Tuesday evening. A person known as Omari Shaaban Rashid had been arrested in connection with the event.
He said armed robbers stopped him as he crossed the gates leading to his house and forced him to surrender 400,000/- he had in his pockets.
“They led him to the house and searched it thoroughly snatching 3.9m/- and vanished,” Sirro explained.
However, the manhunt launched by the police paid off as the suspect, Omar Shaaban Rashid landed in their hands after the police arrested him in a hotel room at Makorora.
He was in possession of 3.2m/- cash, hidden under a bed and a mobile phone which belonged to Daudi.
Police said the suspect named his collaborators in crime as Athumani Abdi (39) from Babati in Manyara Region, Bakari Mbwana (44) of Nguvumali and Ali Saidi (23) from Muheza, within Tanga Region.
Commander Sirro said that police were looking for two more suspects calling for cooperation by members of the public.
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