Breaking: 1,000 Foreign Nationals Arrested in Sweeping Uganda Cybercrime Crackdown

Investigators suspect the syndicate hacked telecommunications companies and utility providers, causing service disruptions and enabling fraudulent deductions from customers’ accounts.

KAMPALA: Ugandan security agencies have detained more than 1,000 foreign nationals, the vast majority of them Chinese, in what sources described as one of the country’s largest operations against an alleged transnational cybercrime syndicate accused of orchestrating online fraud, hacking critical infrastructure and running illegal call centres.

The joint operation, led by the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), targeted multiple locations around Kampala and Wakiso District, including Kingdom Resort Katomi in Wakiso District, a property associated with former Vice President Gilbert Bukenya, according to several security sources familiar with the investigation.

The sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said approximately 430 suspects were arrested at Kingdom Resort Katomi, while hundreds more were rounded up from three neighbouring apartment blocks.

Additional arrests were made in Kampala suburbs including Naguru and Kansanga, bringing the total number of detainees to more than 1,000.

“The suspects are being held at a secured warehouse in Namanve, Wakiso district, as investigators process the arrests and examine evidence recovered during the operation,” said a credible source.

Security officers seized hundreds of computers, servers, mobile phones, storage devices and networking equipment, which have been sent for forensic examination.

According to the security sources, preliminary investigations indicate the premises served as major hubs for an organised transnational cybercrime network operating sophisticated online scam centres and fraudulent call centres targeting victims both within Uganda and abroad.

Investigators suspect the syndicate hacked telecommunications companies and utility providers, causing service disruptions and enabling fraudulent deductions from customers’ accounts.

Authorities are also examining evidence that the operation generated billions of shillings in illicit proceeds through cyber-enabled fraud, although investigators have not publicly disclosed the estimated financial losses.

The sources alleged that some members of the network were also involved in producing online adult content. Those allegations remain under investigation.

No Passports

Investigators are further examining the immigration status of many of those arrested after discovering that numerous foreign nationals allegedly lacked valid travel documents.

Authorities are seeking to establish how they entered and remained in Uganda.

The investigation has also widened to examine allegations that personnel attached to the Special Forces Command (SFC) and the UPDF First Infantry Division provided security for the compounds.

ChimpReports could not independently verify those allegations, and neither the Uganda People’s Defence Forces nor the Special Forces Command had commented by the time of publication.

The probe has drawn attention within Uganda’s security establishment because of the scale of the alleged operation and the possibility that it benefited from protection by individuals in positions of authority, according to the sources.

The sources further alleged that individuals linked to the suspects attempted to seek assistance from Michael Nuwagira popularly known as ‘Toyota’ who is Museveni’s brother, to bail out the suspects.

According to the sources, President Yoweri Museveni had got wind of the crime and instructed that the investigation proceed thoroughly and that anyone found culpable be brought to justice.

The sources added that Museveni’s aide, Lt. Gen. Nalweyiso, received instructions to ensure the investigation proceeds without interference and that suspects found to have committed offences are brought to book.

ChimpReports sought comment from Lt. Gen. Nalweyiso and Immigration spokesperson Col. Kambere before publication. Repeated telephone calls to both officials went unanswered, and neither had responded by the time this story was published.

The Uganda Police Force, CID and the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control had not issued official statements by publication time.

The operation ranks among the largest crackdowns on alleged cybercrime networks in Uganda’s history, highlighting growing concern among authorities over organised transnational syndicates using the country as a base for sophisticated digital fraud and other cyber-enabled crimes. Investigations