Kampala — The police in West Nile has intensified the search for illegal guns, the regional Police spokesman, Philip Mukasa, has disclosed.

"We intend to mount a full-scale search operation for illegal weapons in the region. It may not necessarily be in houses because we strongly believe more guns still exist within the vicinities of residential areas," he stressed.

Speaking in his office on Saturday, Mukasa explained that the development follows the recovery of another gun on Thurday in Althum village, Nyapea sub-county in Zombo district.

"The weapon was recovered by the locals during a bush-burning exercise when sudden explosions sent the residents into flight," Mukasa said.

Bush burning is widely practised to clear land for cultivation.

"After scampering in fear, the residents returned to the scene, only to discover it was an abandoned gun. They immediately reported to the Police," Mukasa said.

Mukasa stated that the gun is suspected to have been hidden there by three hardcore thugs who recently escaped from Nebbi Police Station.

The thugs have been terrorising villagers along the boarder with Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The gun could have been from a Police unit, the army or even from the Congo side of the boarder," Mukasa said.

He hailed the locals for cooperating with the Police.

The intesified search for illegal weapons, Mukasa said, is intended to combat rampant armed robberies and thuggery, both on highways and in residential areas.