Cross-Border Phone Racket: Congolese National Arrested with 27 Suspected Stolen Phones

What the report says

Police in Nansana, Wakiso District, have arrested a 34-year-old Congolese national, Justine Kulimushi, on suspicion of handling stolen mobile phones and moving them across the border to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Watchdog Uganda reports that the arrest took place on August 20, 2026, after investigators received intelligence that he had returned to Uganda and was buying suspected stolen phones at Kalungi Plaza.

The case is connected to an earlier report of an iPhone worth about Shs3 million that was stolen in Nansana on April 21, 2026. Police said their inquiries suggested the phone was taken to Kalungi Plaza and later transported to Beni in eastern DRC. Further intelligence allegedly indicated that Kulimushi often traveled to Uganda to buy stolen handsets for resale elsewhere.

A joint operation by Nansana police and intelligence officers led to his arrest at Kalungi Plaza. Officers recovered 27 second-hand phones of different makes and models, which police said had been factory-reset or flashed to obscure previous ownership. The devices are suspected to have come from different parts of the Kampala Metropolitan area.

Kulimushi remains in custody as investigators work to identify the phones’ owners, determine the source of the recovered devices and trace other people believed to be involved. Police also urged anyone who has lost a phone to report it with identifying details that could help with recovery.