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BY ANDREW COHEN AMVESI.
ARUA. Security operatives in Arua City have recovered a military jungle boot, three tins of Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and several documents including bank slips from the house of the recently arrested suspected child trafficker.
Sabiri Siraj, 27, and his co-accused-wife, Geriya Salima, 28, were last Tuesday remanded to Arua government Prison until March 14, 2023 by Christine Imalingat, the acting senior grade one magistrate, over allegations of child trafficking.
The duo was arrested for the second time on February 1, 2023 at Hotel Arua in Arua City, six months after they had been arrested on the same offense in Maracha district but were released by Police.
Intelligence operatives found the suspects keeping over 40 children at Continental Hotel in Arua Central Division awaiting to be transported to a non-existing Al-Rahman Islamic Primary and secondary school said to be located along Kampala- Gulu highway in Bombo, Luwero district.
The two were accordingly charged with 32 counts—23 are of obtaining money by false pretense and 9 are of aggravated trafficking in children and trafficking in persons.
However, following their remand, security operatives in Arua City got another tip from LCs of Adalafu Ward in Ayivu Division Arua City that the same Siraj had rented three rooms there and kept 37 children aged between 5 to 12 years from January to May last Year.
This prompted security to storm the area on Saturday and searched his personal room which he had locked since August last year after failing to pay rent to the landlord.
The team led by Arua Resident City Commissioner, Alice Akello, discovered a police jungle boot and several documents of various banks, eight metal boxes of school children with telephone numbers written inside them, three tins of ARVs and several household assortments.
According to Akello, who is also the principal complainant in the child traffic case against Siraj, the suspect’s case will now be amended to include illegal possession of military hardware.
Simon Buga, the LC one chairman Ambeku Village Adalafu Ward in Ayivu Division Arua City where Siraj rented the three rooms said he discovered that Siraj was nursing ‘dirty plans’ after he warned him against asking questions about the presence and condition of the children under his custody.
Muzamil Yobo Odriga, the landlord to Siraj disclosed that he demanded for his rent for over five months from Siraj in vain. He was left perplexed when Police of Onduparaka called him one night and informed him that a tenant of his in the names of Sabiri Siraj had registered a case of unlawful eviction from his house by him.
According to reports from intelligence officers in Arua City, Siraj is highly suspected to be recruiting children for Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) with financial support from the Middle East.
Police also picked up all the documents and belongings of the children found in Siraj’s room and according to them, parents of the children will be called using the numbers on the metal boxes to come and pick their children.
Source; Red Pepper.
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