Jonglei police capture illegal weapons in Bor

June 13, 2012 (BOR) – South Sudan police in Jonglei has come into possession of 11 rifles and ammunition smuggled into the state capital by unknown people on Wednesday, June 13, Sudan Tribune has learnt.

The suspected criminals who escaped the arrest, were said to have hired two motor bikes in Bor market, left to the hotel where they kept an empty box and left the town for a village, (about 7-10 km away from Bor town, along Bor-Juba road) where they were hiding the guns according to Mayanja John, one of the motorbike riders who was hired.

John said they were left at the road side with his friend, Bukenya Japat, another Ugandan national living in Bor, by the two gentlemen who went with the box in which they loaded in guns and returned with it to the road so as to be transported to Bor.

John explained that after arriving at the police checkpoint in Bor, the gentlemen asked the police to allow them to pass without checking the box after lying to them about what the box contained.

He said police became suspicious about the box.

“When we left the police checkpoint, they told to me to use a feeder road to enter Bor but did not tell me where to meet them. They use the other bike but escaped within town before I arrived with the box”, said John.

The two motorbike riders reported the box to the police where its true content was revealed.

The 11 guns with their magazines full of bullets were displayed to the deputy governor and state security officials by the Jonglei director of Criminal Investigation Department, (CID), Colonel Chol Achiek.

According to Achiek, his office received a rumour about some people smuggling guns into the state capital for sale.

Some rifles among the ones caught bear signs and stamps of the guns issued to Jonglei’s police and army.

He said the investigation of who the perpetrators are, is underway.

The state deputy of governor, Hussein Maar Nyuot, said the guns that bear the stamp of the state were either the ones that were collected by the disarmament campaign earlier this year or were hidden by the owners who were now attempting to bring them up again.

Maar ordered “thorough investigations” until the culprits are caught.

He said Sudan People’s Liberation Army,(SPLA) headquarters in Bor wil be informed to answer some questions about where and how the guns came to the hands of the criminals.

“We want to know from the army where these guns came from. We will reach to the bottom of it”, he said.

Over 4,000 rifles were collected in Bor by SPLA during the disarmament in March. The main store for the collected guns is in SPLA headquarters at Pan-Pandiar, not far from Bor.

(ST)