Businessmen accused of duping Turkish man in sh535m gold deal remanded
According to information from the police, the duo met Ozeli in January this year at Caramel Café and Lounge in Lubowa, off Entebbe Road, and convinced him that they were businessmen dealing in gold.
A policeman escorting the suspects, Farouk Kasibante Yawe (left) and Ali Kalisa at Kajjansi court. (Photo by Shamim Nabunya)
By Eddie Ssejjoba
Journalists @New Vision
___________________
The Police Mineral Protection Unit (PMPU) has arrested two businessmen for allegedly obtaining money and supplying fake gold to a Turkish national.
It is alleged that Farouk Kasibante Yawe and Ali Kaliisa, claiming to be gold dealers, obtained $150,000 (approximately sh535m) from Mustafa Ozeli, 50, promising to supply him with gold.
According to information from the police, the duo met Ozeli in January this year at Caramel Café and Lounge in Lubowa, off Entebbe Road, and convinced him that they were businessmen dealing in gold.
They reportedly agreed to supply the Turkish national with 10 kilogrammes of gold. After waiting in vain for the gold, he returned to Turkey, but the duo kept in touch, assuring him they were still processing the shipment. They later agreed to meet him in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he gave them more money. However, after receiving it, they returned to Uganda and stopped answering his calls.
Mustafa Ozeli, a Turkish national who was defrauded of $150,000. (Photo by Shamim Nabunya)
A source within the police, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that after waiting in vain for the gold to be shipped, Ozeli travelled back to Kampala and reported the matter to the police.
A case of obtaining money by false pretence, registered as CRB: 070/2025, was recorded at PMPU Naguru headquarters on August 1, 2025.
On August 4, 2025, the police laid a trap, asking Ozeli to agree to meet the suspects at a hotel in Bugolobi, a city suburb. They later arrived with a briefcase containing fake gold wrapped in chocolate foil, but were promptly arrested.
Some of the fake gold impounded from the suspects. (Photo by Shamim Nabunya)
Detectives impounded two motor vehicles driven by the suspects: a white Impreza, registration number UA 977AD, and a black Impreza, registration number UBQ 450T. They also seized three mobile phones — an iPhone 16 Pro Max, an iPhone 13 Pro Max, and a Samsung phone — along with passport number A00106478 in the name of Kasibante Farouk.
According to police sources, the case file was sanctioned by the state attorney on Monday, August 11, 2025. The suspects were later produced before Kajjansi Chief Magistrate Doreen Kalungi and charged with obtaining money by false pretence. She remanded them to Kigo Prison until August 20, 2025.