SOME 161 people are in police custody in Dar es Salaam for allegedly involving in the theft of motorcycles, vehicles, and spare parts. Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander, Lazaro Mambosasa said the suspects were arrested in various parts of the city during the ongoing Police operations that commenced in April 2021.
He said in last month operation, they cornered 49 people for the same reasons, adding that new suspects were arrested between 26 April 2021 and 2 May 2021.
“Of the 161 suspects, five of them have been arrested in Zanzibar with 40 stolen motorcycles. The suspects have been stealing motorcycles here in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Coast regions and taking them to Zanzibar to search for customers,” he said.
Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) Mambosasa told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the suspects will be brought to Dar es Salaam from Zanzibar along with the exhibits and taken to court after completing all legal formalities.
In addition, he said during the operation they managed to seize two Toyota Noah vehicles with registration number T 770 ACY and Toyota IST with registration number T 137 DMM both stolen in April 2021 and found in May 2021.
“We also seized a Browning Court pistol numbered B113558 TZ CAR 110526 that was stolen on 07 April 2021 in Chanika on the outskirt of Dar es Salaam in Lubakaya area at the informer’s home, where the Police conducted a search operation and successfully seized the weapon on 01 May 2021 in the same areas of Chanika,” he explained.
Also in the operation police managed to seize various items including 91 motorcycles, television sets and decoders, subwoofer and computer, four auto rickshaw, 24 bale of second-hand clothes, electrical equipment, mobile phones, gas cylinders, car parts such as doors, lights, bumpers, power window, gearboxes to mention a few.
SACP Mambosasa said the operation was ongoing to ensure that Dar es Salaam remains safe and warned people who try to involve themselves in the theft of cars, motorcycles and spare parts to stop, saying the police force will reach them wherever they run or hide. At another point, he said the Police have arrested a 61-year-old man on suspicion of theft in warehouses and shops using fake keys.
According to Mambosasa, the man identified as Said Abdallah a resident of Mbagala Kilungule was arrested on 04 May 2021 in the area with 83 master keys, 47 iron nails which are used as raw material for making the skeleton keys.
He said the suspect was interrogated and confessed to have been committing crimes since 2013 in various parts of the city using skeleton keys. Equally, the Police issued a warning to all those who have been released from prison for various reasons and other people involved in criminal activities to stop engaging in such activities.