Police release statement on heavy operation in Mogadishu

Somali police spokesman Sadiq Aden Ali has spoken to the media in Mogadishu tonight and gave more details into a operation to arrest armed gangs who have been on a robbery spree in many parts of Mogadishu in recent days and weeks.

The spokesman said that police had arrested one of the two armed robbers who robbed a gadget store two days ago at the busy Zoobe intersection on broad daylight which was widely reported on social media in the past few hours.

He also said that they have arrested other armed gangs who robbed at the Tarabuunka intersection, between Banadir and Digfer hospitals and Al-Barako intersection, seizing their vehicles and equipment in the process.

The spokesman said they had a large amount of assets in their possession including mobile phones, gold, Bajaj motorcycles and cash, which will be returned to their owners as soon as possible.

The police spokesman also said 19 phones had been stolen from the store in Zoobe intersection, 15 of which were Iphones.

The owner,  who was in the shop at the time and was wounded in the head by a pistol whip, thanked security forces and the media for covering the robbery.

In recent months, the capital has seen a spike in robberies with scores of youths being arrested in the process on suspicion or allegations of robbing commuters of their mobile gadgets with some of whom are yet to stand trial.

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