Six arrested over smuggled goods

KARONGI - Police in Karongi District are holding six people in connection with smuggled goods which were seized on Lake Kivu early this week. The goods were being smuggled into the country from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).The six include a prominent businessman in Kibuye town identified as Eliere Ndikumana and five Congolese. The Congolese were identified as 25-year old Safari Murungaro, Ushombo Rugomo, 36, and Dunia Phillip aged 31.The others are Meshach Mukanirwa and Andréa Marekere both aged 38. They were arrested by a joint team of Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) officialsand RDF Marines with goods that included packs of tomato paste, bathing soap and NIDO powdered milk. A police source confirmed to The New Times yesterday that all the six had admitted to having committed the crime. “At first they denied, but after thorough interrogation, they confessed that they had committed the crime. Investigations are ongoing,” the source said,adding that the suspects would soon be arraigned before court. Meanwhile, security officials have warned against overloading of boats saying that this has recently become a major source of accidents. Last month 10 people died in a Lake Kivu accident and earlier, 35 Congolese drowned on their way back home after a busy market day in the Western Province. Ends

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Six arrested over smuggled goods