By Immaculate Wanyenze
The handcuffed wrists, fines and humiliation that come with smuggling are the least of worries for Arineitwe Sam, 33 a businessman based in Senge village, Wakiso.
Arineitwe is a notorious offender who has been using porous routes in the Western region to smuggle goods till they find their way to Kampala for sale.
Unfortunately, on Friday 26th January, Arineitwe lost hope when four of his accomplices were arrested in his rented home in Senge. These were found in possession of 64 cartons of assorted Oris cigarettes with a dutiable value of UGX 20,699,961. Cigarettes are prohibited items according to the East African Community Customs Act, 2004, section 199 and 200.
The arrest did not end there. Through intelligence networks, Arineitwe, the owner of the house where the smuggled cigarettes had been hidden, was also netted on Wednesday night.
According to Stuart Aheebwa, the Supervisor Litigation, Arineitwe ’s accomplices appeared in court on Tuesday but pleaded not guilty and were granted bail. For Arineitwe, he will appear in court today (Friday) to answer to charges of being in possession of prohibited goods. Once found guilty, the quintet will face 3 years or pay a fine of 10,000 US dollars (UGX 38,000,000 million). And for the cars that the offenders used to smuggle cigarettes, they will be forfeited to the state.
Arineitwe ’s story is not an isolated one. As part of URA’s continued anti-smuggling operations countrywide, a number of similar rackets continue to be unearthed to protect society against harmful products and encourage fair competition.
“Goods if smuggled into the country do not pay tax and are sold cheaper than those that pay taxes,” Ibrahim Bbossa, the Spokesperson of URA emphasized on how smuggling costs the country.
From Arineitwe’s experience and others that continue to fall culprit, URA is committed to exposing all economic saboteurs engaging in illicit trade. Currently, 90% of URA customs processes and procedures are automated. This makes it easy to detect any concealments.
There are also non-intrusive scanners that take pictures of whatever is in the container, so this helps reduce smuggling unlike before. The Regional Electronic Cargo tracking system, where cargo is tracked and monitored right from the port up to where one wants the goods to go, has also been key in fighting the vice.
The general public should therefore report to URA all suspicious trade practices in their areas to enable URA to create a level trading ground for all legitimate traders.
