Three bank robbers shot by colleagues in Mkuranga forest

THREE notorious bandits suspected to have taken part in armed robberies at various banks have been dead after being killed by their colleagues during an ambush at Vikindu in Mkuranga District.

At same time police in Dar es Salaam have seized 23 firearms with 835 rounds of ammunitions, three bullet proof vests, 48 handcuffs, 12 radio calls and police uniforms after searching their house.

The Dar es Salaam Special Zone Commissioner of Police, Mr Simon Sirro, told reporters in the city yesterday that the incident occurred on September 3 while the suspects were arrested in separate areas in the city, including Mbagala, Keko and Kawe.

He said the suspects were also involved in the 35m/- robbery at the offices of Matrix International Company at Sophia House in Chang’ombe, Temeke Municipality, on August 29. They were among the 10 suspects wore green police uniforms and commanded the Chinese director of the company to give them money before they disappeared with the loot in a Toyota Noah vehicle with fake registration number T 549 BPK.

“After that incident, the police launched an investigation until the afternoon of September 3 when they arrested the suspects. After the arrest, the suspects showed the police the house they had rented as their launching pad for carrying out crimes, which is located at Mbezi Beach in Kinondoni Municipality,” Commissioner of Police (CP) Sirro narrated.

MrSirro further explained that the police went to inspect the house and found three Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs), eight empty and 120 rounds of ammunitions, three shotguns and 130 bullets, 16 pistols with 548 bullets and 12 radio calls with three chargers.

Other items that were found in the house were three binoculars, 45 plastic handcuffs, three iron handcuffs, three bullet proof vests, 37 blanks, a scissor for cutting metals, a tool box for cleaning weapons, a hammer, a sword and CCTV server, a Toyota Noah with registration number T 950 DGC having a fake registration number T 549 BPK and a Toyota Alphad with registration number T 987 CLH.

According to CP Sirro, the suspects have confessed to have been involved in the robbery incident at the Habib African Bank and Stanbic Bank in 2014. “After interrogations, the suspects confessed to have hidden other weapons at VikinduForest in Mkuranga,” he added.

The police took the suspects to the Vikindu Forest at night. Unfortunately, when arrived in the area, they were ambushed by hiding bandits who opened fire and killed their own colleagues who delayed to lie down as the police did.

It was at that point when the police replied by shooting in the direction where the bullets came from after which they managed to advance, coming across a Sub-Machine Gun (SMG) that had been abandoned in the forest with no bullets in it.

The three suspects were shot and seriously injured on their chests and stomach. They died on the way while being rushed to Muhimbili National Hospital for medical treatment. Their names have been withheld to facilitate investigations.

CP Sirro also said they were interrogating more than seven suspected bandits who were arrested while doing military exercises in Vikindu Forest, a few days after the bandits killed four police officers at Mbande area in Mbagala.

The Dar es Salaam zonal police boss also confirmed that in a separate incident, they have arrested six suspects who confessed to have been involved in breaking houses at various areas in the city and stealing different household items, including television sets, radios, laptops and cellular phones.

He also added that they are holding for interrogation four suspected car thieves suspected of stealing eight vehicles from various areas in Dar es Salaam, which they sold in the city and other regions.