The South Sudan National Police Service on Thursday confirmed the arrest of 11 suspects in connection with the theft of motorcycles in Juba.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj in an exclusive interview in Juba, Maj. Gen Daniel Justin, the police spokesperson, said the police launched a crackdown to curb the surge in motorcycle theft that have claimed lives.
“We have some crimes here and there, especially robbery of the Boda Boda riders. Last week, we registered more than four cases where two people were killed, and three were wounded now this has made it very hard for us. So, we decided to work very hard to see to it that this issue of Boda Boda riders being robbed is stopped,” Maj. Gen. Justin asserted.
In recent weeks, Juba residents have decried the rising insecurity and especially the robbery of motorcycles in the residential areas, leading to the deaths of motorcycle riders commonly known as Boda Boda riders.
Maj. Gen. Justin said at least 11 stolen motorcycles were recovered from the suspects during the crackdown. He added that a man suspected to be issuing forged documents for the stolen bikes was also arrested.
“We carried out an operation whereby we managed to recover more than 11 stolen motorcycles. We arrested 11 suspects with 11 motorbikes. They are now in the northern division and we are still investigating but there is proof these motorbikes were stolen,” he said.
“We managed to arrest a suspect who is involved in forging logbooks for these stolen motorbikes. These are efforts that are done by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Those people are now under detention,” he added.
The police official urged Juba residents whose motorcycles were stolen to report the case and go to the Police Northern Division to identify their bikes.