Geoffrey Osborn Oceng, the Lamwo Resident District Commissioner, disclosed that four days ago, they received distressing calls from the suspects, claiming to be abductees, demanding ransoms.
Security authorities in Lamwo
district have apprehended a man accused of orchestrating a fake kidnap and
demanding a ransom of more than Shillings 800,000. Lampard Tabu was arrested
from Gai Village, Paloga Sub County on Monday following a joint operation by the
local intelligence network with support from the community members.
Tabu, in collaboration with five other Ugandans who remain at
large, had spent the past four days demanding ransoms of over Shillings 800,000
from several people. They claimed these funds were required by their purported
South Sudanese captors for their release.
According to a security report, the
six suspects informed local council chairpersons and Members of Parliament,
that they had traveled to South Sudan for commercial farming between August and
September of this year and were abducted by suspected South Sudan rebels in
Magwi County.
Geoffrey Osborn Oceng, the Lamwo Resident District Commissioner,
disclosed that four days ago, they received distressing calls from the suspects,
claiming to be abductees, demanding ransoms. He stated that in cooperation with
their South Sudanese security counterparts, Ugandan security took immediate
action to verify the situation and rescue the individuals.
However, they subsequently
discovered that the entire incident had been staged.
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Osborn further explained that, after thorough investigation and
collaboration with community members, the security forces managed to apprehend
Tabu, who is believed to be the ringleader of the group, while the other
suspects are still at large.
Tabu is locked up at Ngom-oromo UPDF Barracks as
the investigation continues. Preliminary findings suggest that the suspects had
orchestrated this deception to extort money from local leaders for personal
gain.