English
Kinyarwanda
Police in Rubavu District is holding two conmen on suspicion of possessing illegal and fake minerals and counterfeit foreign currency.
The suspects were arrested after information reached police that the duo were purporting to be money changers and mineral traders.
According to Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Innocent Gasasira, the Police spokesperson for the Western region, the suspects were apprehended on January 18, in Nyundo sector, Terimbere village.
He explained that they were arrested by undercover security who posed as clients for the mineral.
“Security invited them pretending to make business transactions with them” he said.
What the ‘dealers’ did not know is that the officers had been investigating them for defrauding people who come to them for foreign exchange.
He identified the suspects as Alphonse Habumugisha 50 and Jean Claude Uwingabiye 40 who are currently detained at Gisenyi Police station pending further investigations by Rwanda Investigations Bureau (RIB).
“The suspects were arrested with about 350Kg of Colton, they didn’t show any documents to ascertain if the seized minerals are genuine and more still the monies they were trading was fake” he explained.
The police are warning the public to only deal and pay money to registered forex bureaus and legitimate traders , and should be only once they are sure that the product they are purchasing are genuine.
The suspects may be charged under article 269 of the Rwanda New Penal Code for counterfeit which upon conviction, he/she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than five (5) years and not more than seven (7) years. If the offence referred to in Paragraph One of this Article is committed at the international level, the applicable penalty is an imprisonment term of more than seven (7) years and not more than ten (10) years and a fine of not less than seven million Rwandan francs (7,000,000 Frw).
