{Rwanda National Police (RNP) has broken up a ring that has been forging and selling receipt books of a local travel company, Kigali Bus Services (KBS).}
Police have arrested seven suspects, all in Kigali, alleged to be leaders of the group.
Supt. Modeste Mbabazi, Police spokesperson for the central region (City of Kigali), said the criminal act was brought to their attention early last month, when KBS management filed a complaint, which “unfolded thorough investigations.”
“Investigations were immediately launched in which we first arrested three people, all employees of a print press and stationary – Papeterie Duplicaterie – in the city centre and recovered some of the forged receipt books before arresting four others later,” Supt. Mbabazi said.
The latest arrest happened on December 5 when police raided a house in Munanira Cell of Nyakabanda Sector, Nyarugenge, where they arrested one Steven Kamanzi, 25, and recovered 775 forged receipt books and machines he was allegedly using to make them.
Among the seven suspects so far in police custody, three of them are employees of Kigali Bus Services, one of them being Emmanuel Ngabo, who has been heading the operations and inspection of the travel company, believed to be the mastermind.
“When we arrested the first group of stationary dealers, they led us to their accomplices inside the travel agency, but investigations are still underway to identify and arrest all those connected to this racket,” Mbabazi said.
According to Charles Ngarambe, the Executive Chairman of KBS, the criminal act was hurtinng the business and that they were in the process of “phasing out of the business.”
The travel agency, which started in 2007, has a total of 116 buses currently, but, Ngarambe said, the issue of forged receipts forced them to ground about 50 of them after “operating in losses and couldn’t even afford to pay the workers.”
He said that even when they added new 55 buses to try to save the situation; it seemed “deteriorating than saving the situation.”
He went on to say that an all-out investigations started when one of their dedicated employee came forward and reported the matter after she was approached by individuals attempting to lure her into the unlawful business so that she could buy the forged receipts from them.
“We first encountered this issue in February last year when one of our employees, was suspected and arrested. At that time, I had a trip to China and l left the responsibility to follow up the case, to Ngabo, which he never did, thus the girl was released,” Ngarambe said.
“We want to thank the Police for this crackdown, because since they started investigations and carried out arrests, we have bounced back into business and we are making more money with few buses, even when the 50 others are still parked. We are now considering unleashing them as we enroll back into full transport operations like before,” Ngarambe added.
Police investigations indicate that the suspects, with the help of insiders, would first know which serial number would be used that day before counterfeiting and using them, in most cases from 3pm.
Under article 614 of the penal code, any person who, knowingly issues a document containing materially incorrect facts; falsifies or modifies, in any way, an original document; knowingly uses an inaccurate or falsified document; shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of more than five to seven years and a fine of Rwf500, 000 to Rwf2 million.
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