27 arrested in Kira as Police launch crackdown on drug dens

________________

In a targeted effort to dismantle criminal hubs, a joint security task force on the night of February 12, 2026, carried out a major operation in Bulindo, Katuli Zone and Buwate, Wakiso district, resulting in 27 arrests.

The operation, which started at 8:00pm, was led by the Kira Police Division and specifically targeted known crime hotspots associated with drug abuse and rising criminal activity that have unsettled local residents.

Police said all 27 suspects were arrested on allegations of possessing suspected narcotic substances, with various exhibits recovered during the searches.

At press time, all suspects remained in custody pending screening and the processing of their files for possible prosecution, according to a police statement issued on Thursday.

According to Luke Owoyesigyire, the deputy spokesperson of Kampala Metropolitan Police, the intensified operations are a direct response to a spike in crime linked to drug abuse.

He said the operation was successful and that similar enforcement actions will continue to ensure public safety.

“This raid forms part of a broader strategy to address insecurity that has, over time, spread from formerly quiet residential neighbourhoods into increasingly high-density areas,” Owoyesigyire said.

Police added that criminal groups often use narcotics as a gateway to more serious offences, including phone snatching, house break-ins and the nighttime waylaying of commuters.

Owoyesigyire noted that the timing of the operation, beginning at 8:00pm, was a deliberate tactical move aimed at disrupting criminal activity and clearing out suspected staging grounds for robberies before they can occur under cover of darkness.

According to Police, the operations are also designed to gather intelligence to identify key suppliers and ringleaders behind the local drug trade, in an effort to tackle the root causes of insecurity.

In September 2024, a woman in her 30s who was believed to have been jogging near the Kampala Northern Bypass was found dead after reportedly being struck on the head with a blunt object by unknown assailants.

Police recovered the body of Agnes Nantongo, a manager at African Oil Petrol Station - Agenda Bridge, near Agenda Bridge in Kamuli A' Zone, Kireka Ward, Namugongo Division, Wakiso District.

Then Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said investigators suspected Nantongo had been struck on the head with a blunt object.

Preliminary findings suggested she may have been attacked while jogging, based on the tracksuit she was wearing. Police also said the victim was found without any identification or mobile phone.

Her death sent shockwaves among residents of Kira Municipality, many of whom regularly exercise along the road in the mornings and evenings. It was the second incident in two years in which a female jogger had been attacked in the area.