Police in Iganga are holding a man named Hamas Paaya A.K. Hamas Nuwahereza for masquerading as an employee of the National Drug Authority (NDA) to solicit money from drug shop operators.
Paaya was allegedly impersonating Zaidi Mwhondha as the Busoga regional NDA supervisor.
At the time of his arrest, Paaya had allegedly extorted more than shs3 million from unsuspecting operators under the guise of processing licenses for their outlets.
Paaya was arrested after a clinic operator in Nawandala subcounty called the district drug inspector after Paaya threatened to close down her clinic on claims that she was operating illegally.
When police arrived, they asked Paaya to identify himself, and he showed them an identity card belonging to Hamasa Nuwahereza. However, police officers became suspicious after realizing that his accent was different from the person on the ID.
When asked more about his bosses at the region, the suspect started fidgeting around, leading police to arrest him.
This is not the first time Paaya has been accused of impersonation. He has reportedly been moving around the clinics purporting to be an inspector from the NDA.
Dr. Richard Kirigwajja, the regulatory officer at NDA, asked drug outlets to always be vigilant with such people. He said that the suspect was using a motorcycle, while NDA inspectors always use company-branded vehicles when carrying out operations.