By Sandra Birungi

Police is hunting for the manufacturers of fake cooking oil in Bugiri district. The hunted are six men.

Of the six, one man has been arrested when police was confiscating the fake cooking oil which has been put on sale. About 4,000 liters of fake cooking oil was confiscated by police during the inquest in Busanzi village, Bugiri district.

According to police, the men wait for the genuine cooking oil from industries, switch it with the fake product and then distribute it to the public. The manufacturers are said to cook the oil at their homes, pack it in the genuine cooking oil containers or jerricans, brand it the same way and sell it to the unsuspecting people.

David Otim of Bugiri police confirmed the reports of the arrest and the existence of the fake cooking oil saying, “It is true that some traders are getting some crude oil from BIDCO and selling it. So far, we have arrested one person and still searching for the rest,” he said. To prove the harm of the oil, Mr. Otim said they have sent samples for testing.

“We have sent samples to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics for testing,” he said. However, he has called onto the general public to help in the investigations saying, “This crude oil is harmful in whatever form it is.”