Five people have been arrested in Rulindo District over masquerading as officials of Crime Investigation Department (CID), a defunct department of Rwanda National Police, whose role was taken over by Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB).

The suspects, according to Police, were arrested on Tuesday night following a tip-off from residents who had been targeted by the suspects.

The five men who had travelled from Kigali identified themselves to Rulindo as agents of CID.

They claimed that they were on a mission to arrest drug dealers from the area.

The suspects had allegedly defrauded Rwf5,000 and three mobile telephones from three residents.

"We were aware that CID was no longer existed. Besides that, we couldn’t believe in officers who were apparently defrauding,” an eyewitness said

Police Spokesperson for the Northern Region, CIP Alexis Rugigana, confirmed the development, noting that the suspects were currently detained at RIB-Murambi post pending investigation.

"The suspects are five. We caught them red-handed as they were defrauding money from residents under a mask of CID which is no more as everyone may be aware of,” he said.

Rugigana noted that the suspects face charges of impersonation and fraud.

He went on to challenge the general public to always be vigilant against such tricks used by criminals and always be quick to call the police or other responsible entities to verify whether what they’re doing is legal.