Detectives in Busia have arrested two suspected gang members after recovering 180 National Identification Cards during an operation targeting criminal networks near the Kenya-Uganda border.
The operation was carried out in Teso South, where detectives searched one of the suspects’ houses and found the IDs bearing different names.
Police are now investigating how the documents ended up in the suspects’ possession and whether they were being used, or were meant to be used, to facilitate criminal activities.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the officers also recovered a tear gas canister, a heavy metal rod and eight metal bars suspected to have been used to break into houses.
Two pairs of boots and five mobile phones were also confiscated in the operation.
“All the items that have been recovered have now been placed as exhibits pending investigations,” the DCI said in a statement on Thursday.
The suspects are still in custody as the detectives try to unravel more information regarding the matter before presenting them to court for arraignment.
Detectives are following other clues as well trying to determine if the two suspects are part of a bigger gang and identify others who might be associated with them.
The confiscation of the IDs followed the arrest in December 2025 of 26 people by detectives who were investigating an alleged network engaged in the illegal processing and issuance of government documents.
The investigation exposed a gang which was allegedly involved with civil servants, immigration officers, local administrators, businessmen and middlemen.
The suspects were allegedly assisting individuals to jump procedures in order to get the documents like National IDs, passports, birth certificate and alien ID among others.
During the operation, detectives recovered filled and blank ID application forms, fingerprint equipment, birth and death certificates, passports, government stamps and other registration materials from private premises.
The latest recovery in Busia is expected to help detectives establish whether the 180 IDs are connected to a similar document fraud network or were being held for another criminal purpose.
