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Kinyarwanda
Rwanda National Police (RNP) has handed over a stolen Toyota Hilux pickup truck recovered in Rwanda, to Ugandan authorities as the two police forces continue to enjoy strong cooperation against cross-border crimes.
It was handed over on April 20 by the RNP Commissioner for Interpol, ACP Tony Kuramba, to the Liaison Officer at the Uganda High Comission in Rwanda, Patrick Lawot.
Speaking to the press shortly after the handover, Police Spokesperson, Chief Supt. Celestin Twahirwa, said that the vehicle was successfully intercepted at the Rubavu border on January 28 as it labored to cross over to DR Congo, from Uganda where it had been stolen.
"Officers at the border discovered that the chassis number of the car did not match what the driver was providing on documents. He was then asked to explain why the documents did not match and he alleged that he could find proper documents back in Uganda," CSP Twahirwa said.
"They decided to impound the vehicle and let him go back to Uganda for documents, but it was later established that it had been stolen and registered in the database of stolen cars. We contacted our Ugandan counterparts and shared information, which confirmed that the driver was a suspected car smuggler."
Following investigations in Uganda, the suspect was apprehended later.
"This is yet another confirmation of the strong commitment that RNP has in stopping crimes inside and outside its borders," Lawot said.
"It is not the first time Rwanda and Uganda Police forces have collaborated to solve a crime. This is a sign of good assurance to people in both countries; that there is strong commitment to enforce safety and security of lives, property and businesses," he added.
"Fighting cross-border crimes requires proactive activity, as well as the involvement of citizens through community policing, in order to empower the community in helping police to solve crimes."
This operation comes after RNP also managed, last month, to hand over to Kenyan authorities a smuggled Toyota Land Cruiser worth $44, 000 (Rwf30 million) which was bounded as it crossed to Rwanda from for DRC, when it had been allegedly sold.
In the same line, two other vehicles which had been stolen from Kenya were also impounded in Rwanda and handed back to Kenyan authorities in February.
Early this month, RNP impounded a Fuso truck with Burundian plate numbers, suspected to have been smuggled from Japan and sold in Burundi.
Such successful interceptions are enabled by Interpol's I-24/7 tool which Rwanda installed at all its border posts and enables officials to detect movement of any item that is smuggled or stolen between borders.
Under article 332, any person who steals a motor vehicle in any country in order to sell it in another country, is liable to a term of imprisonment of five to seven years and a fine of Rwf5 million to Rwf20 million.
