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Kinyarwanda
Police in the City of Kigali have recovered 60 drums of Asphalt that were fraudulently taken from the stores of Kobil, a petroleum company.
The asphalt worth Rwf9 million was stolen on Monday night from Kobil stores in Gatsata, Gasabo District.
Asphalt also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black, and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum used to tarmac roads.
Paul Munene, the country manager of Kobil, said that on Monday a man posing as a customer, ordered 60 drums of bitumen but was first requested to pay the money on the company account and bring the bank-slip.
“He came back with a bank-slip of Rwf9 million later at about 6:30 pm, which he gave to the cashier, but during the process of loading the drums on the vehicle this guising client went back to the cashier and asked to first make a copy of the bank-slip, which he never brought back as he left with the drums,” Munene said.
“It was, however, until the following morning that we realized we had been robbed as we were reconciling our accounts; it was then that we realized that no money was deposited on our account by this client,” he added.
It has since been established that the bank-slip had been forged.
Senior Supt. Emmanuel Hitayezu, the Police spokesperson for the City of Kigali, said that all the drums were recovered from five shops in Gakinjiro in Gisozi and in the city centre, where they had been sold.
“Successful operations were facilitated by CCTV footages at the store, which helped to identify the vehicle that was used, and its driver,” SSP Hitayezu said.
“The driver, who by looks thought that he was transporting legally bought goods, helped officers to locate all shops where they were sold. Although the prime suspect, whom we have managed to also identify, is still at large, we have in custody some of the people and owners of shops that bought these stolen,” he added.
The spokesperson called upon the business community to install security gadgets like CCTV cameras at their businesses, which he said are instrumental during operations and investigations.
He also called for vigilance of the business community. “If someone tells you that he or she has deposited money on your account first cross-check with your bank to be very sure to avoid such fraudulent acts.”
Meanwhile, Munene commended the Police promptness to recover the goods. “From the day we reported the case, Police was with us day and night to recover our products.”
“I was with the officers the whole Thursday and Friday and I witnessed something unusual of law enforcers; the officers never rested, they were up and down from one shop to another with a lot of concern searching and recovering our products,” Munene said.
“The courage and commitment of the officers from day one meant something successful; we knew we were to get back our products. I saw a lot of concern and efficiency, and this assures us as investors that our investments are protected,” the country manager added.
