By Luke Kivumbi
It was a showdown in Kapchorwa last weekend as URA retrieved smuggled goods from various locations in Kaserem.
Following the appreciation of the Kenyan shilling against the Ugandan currency, most smuggled goods have become unprofitable on the Ugandan market. For smugglers in Kapchorwa, it is business as usual, as they have stock that they have been keeping for months, making it even more profitable.
This was the case in Kaserem as URA received information of traders that had stocked up to 500 cartons of wheat flour and over 400 bags of cement.
The loot was stacked in stores close to town for the traders to easily sell it once they got buyers. Unbeknownst to them, the taxman was privy to this, and an invasion was imminent.
URA’s enforcement team in Mbale gathered forces, teaming up with the area police, and mounted an operation in the smuggler’s backyard.
They hit the first store, finding it almost empty as the smugglers had been tipped off. “We found one last motorcycle ferrying the last cartons of wheat flour,” said Luke Kivumbi, one of the officers in the operation.
However, the team’s luck was still in as they retrieved about 100 cartons of wheat flour from the second target. At this point, residents had become rowdy, pelting the officers with stones.
Police had to intervene with tear gas at the third location as the team loaded about 70 bags of cement out of over 250 bags. By the end of the operation, the team had recovered contraband with a tax liability of over 8 million Ugandan shillings.
This included 29 cartons of Dunia wheat flour, 51 cartons of Pembe wheat flour, 20 cartons of Golden wheat flour, 74 bags of Simba cement, and 5 cartons of salt, all made in Kenya. The team also impounded a motorcycle registration number (UFJ867N) that was caught ferrying contraband.
Located at one of Uganda’s borders with Kenya, Kapchorwa has gradually developed into a major entry and exit for goods. However, the town has also become a hotbed for smuggling, with URA recovering close to 50 tons of wheat flour and over 150 tons of cement from the Sebei sub-region in this financial year alone.
Ibrahim Bbossa Kibuuka, the Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs at URA, says they have upped their efforts in the region to counter the vice by deploying technology on top of the vast enforcement network.
He adds that the taxman is also collaborating with other agencies to share information and conduct such operations.
