Four people have been arrested in separate Police operations over fraud and related malpractices.

One of the suspects, Jean de Dieu Karangwa, a trader and dealer in used clothes in Kigali, was arrested on Monday after he attempted to bribe a police officer with Rwf50,000, to avoid penalties for failure to issue an electronic billing machine receipt to one of his customers, Police said.

Police Spokesperson for the City of Kigali Emmanuel Hitayezu said: "One of the police officers who was in an operation, found a buyer with two bundles of secondhand clothes and asked for the receipt, and he said Karangwa didn’t give him the receipt. When the officer approached Karangwa in his shop, he instead tried to bribe him with Rwf50,000 and he was arrested immediately.”

Three other people were arrested the same day in an operation that targeted fraud and forged tax stamps in particular, conducted in Rubavu and Musanze districts, where goods worth Rwf5.7 million were also seized.

Among the seized items include wines, liquors, powder milk, energy drinks, juice and cooking oil.

The three men arrested in Musanze and Rubavu were at the time found selling forged tax stamps, Police said.

In another operation, a vehicle smuggling goods was intercepted in Shyorongi Sector of Rulindo District loaded with 10 cartons of powdered milk, 40 boxes of red wine, and five cartons of Red Label liquor, all valued at Rwf6 million.

The driver managed to escape after he noticed a Police checkpoint in a distance, leaving the car and the smuggled goods behind.

Meanwhile, Hitayezu warned against such malpractices, adding that Police Revenue Protection Unit has intensified its operations against fraud and smuggling.

"Everything and business, in particular, has clear guidelines that have to be followed because acting contrary to that means you will be held accountable,” he said.

"We are aware that during the festive season, many people shop but there are also some traders who tend to make quick money and end up smuggling in goods or evading taxes, that’s is why operations are intensified during such a period.”

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