Four men who were allegedly masquerading as police officers to defraud unsuspecting people were arrested on October 11, in Kamonyi District. The Police Spokesperson for Southern Province, Chief Inspector of Police Bonaventure Karekezi, confirmed that the quartet was apprehended in Ruyenzi trading centre in Runda Sector where they were at the time attempting to defraud commercial motorcyclists. “At about 10am five men went to Ruyenzi centre at the motorcycle stage and introduced themselves to motorcyclists as police officers,” Karekezi said. He added: “They started checking the mechanical status of each motorcycle and asking each of (commercial) motorcyclists to produce traffic related documents and would demand not less than Rwf10,000 from anyone without one of the documents they were asking for to avoid further penalties.” Out of suspicion, Karekezi said, one of the motorcyclists decided to make a phone call to Runda Police station to “confirm if what the five men were actually police officers.” “Police officers from Runda Police station were immediately dispatched and they arrested them red-handed although the fifth suspect managed to escape.” All the suspects had reportedly travelled from Kigali to Runda. Karekezi called on the 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. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
