THE Police Force in Dar es Salaam under the Special Zone is holding five officers who are suspected to have stolen 150m/- that was robbed from ARTAN Company, following an attack by bandits at Kariakoo on December 14, last year.

The arrests follow investigations conducted by a team of five experts who were led by the Chief Inspector of Crimes in Dar es Salaam special zone, Mr Ahamed Msangi.Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander, Suleiman Kova reported the developments during a press conference at his office in Dar es Salaam.

"The suspected police officers are in custody following the investigation and statements made by eye witnesses," he said.The officers' files will be sent to the Attorney General after investigations are complete."We have also arrested two more suspects, Deogratias Kimaro (30) and Kulwa Mwakabala (30) who were involved in the incident," he said.

The main suspect identified as Augustino Kayula alias Frank John Wangiba died three days after the incident at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), where he was rushed for medical treatment after he was wounded by the irate crowd.

In a separate development, the police force has requested journalists to cooperate with police on the ongoing programme of educating the general public on the importance of obeying the law without the use of force.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Said Mwema, made these comments while receiving 564 motorcycles worth of 1.4bil/- from the government."The motorcycles will help us to combat crimes and in the ongoing programme of 'Ulinzi Shirikishi,' " he said.

The Manager of Postal Bank, Mr Sabasaba Moshingi said that the bank has put aside 20mil/- for the police force in order to boost security in the country.