Correspondence by Vian Byaruhanga, LT Rasulu Swaib, Richard Rumena and Abel Gulu
The enforcement team in Eastern Uganda has registered multiple busts of contraband cargo through intelligence from RILO East, a confidential informer of URA with support and reinforcement from security agencies.
The Busitema Enforcement team received intelligence about three trucks carrying smuggled garments from Kenya. The team then moved closer to Busia under camouflage but the smugglers had planted counter intelligence sources of their own hence deciding against commencement of their travel plans.
The URA teams got wind of the change and orchestrated a retreat to Busitema instead in a bid to subdue the smugglers’ qualms. The smugglers believed the bait with one truck crossing to Uganda at breakneck speed. Once sighted, the ‘DMC’ Reg No UAG068E was pursued and stopped.
Upon verification, the team recovered 1,010 square meters of plain spandex fabric for making dresses made in China, 1464 pieces of men’s sports jerseys, 749 pieces of children’s poly cotton t shirts, 327 pieces of ladies’ ponchos and 438 pieces of ladies’ track suits.
Two days later, their Jinja counterparts, seized contraband Pakistan rice that was being repackaged and transported to Kampala using passenger vehicles. This was during a search conducted on the new Jinja Nile Bridge on vehicles headed to Kampala for uncustomed goods. Repackaging is emerging as a popular tactic for rice smugglers
18 bags X 100kgs of repackaged pakistani rice, 21 pieces of desktop landline telephones, 48 pieces of Calus C8700 mobile phones and 269 pieces of Momo fly 3310 mobile phones were recovered along the Nile bridge.
Days later, Namayingo enforcement also caught their own case of a smuggler attempting to move Pakistan rice using an Isuzu Elf Tipper Reg No UBB162Y at 2:00am in the night. The intercepted truck was escorted to Namayingo station where verification was carried out revealing 1.8 tons of rice.
The most recent recovery transpired over the weekend on Saturday morning where Busitema enforcement team intercepted a transit Truck Reg no UBE017W/UBE878X with phones and related accessories concealed in different compartments. The truckers had repurposed what should be ordinarily fuel reserve tanks and tool boxes to convey contraband.
Verification revealed 2,079pcs of assorted feature phones (SQ mobile and itel),140pcs of GSM fixed wireless phones, 1,134pcs of itel phone batteries, 1,138pcs of feature phone chargers and 7,200pcs of charger heads
Offence management is under way.
