Armed Afghan arrested at Entebbe

By Geoffrey Kamali and Emmy Allio POLICE and aviation security at Entebbe Airport yesterday arrested a 74-year-old Afghanistan national found with two pistols and a hunting knife in his baggage. Askaruo Gholam Omar was nabbed as he prepared to board a Kenya airways flight to Nairobi at 6.30am, security sources said. The elderly suspect holding passport OR 25527, who was due to travel to Frankfurt, Germany via Amsterdam, did not declare the weapons as per new airport regulations. Police spokesman, Asuman Mugenyi said, “The air pistols are the kind used for hunting as a sport. They were empty but are equally dangerous.” Omar told Police he has lived in Uganda since 1979 and that he runs a shop at Nakivubo and resides in Kansanga, a city suburb. The weapons, which the Afghan had not declared, were detected by electronic scanners. This is the second incident in less than a month when suspects are arrested with firearms at Entebbe Airport. A Pakistani national, Mohammed Afzar Choundry, who had come to see Omar off was also arrested. ends