By Annet Nantongo
A passenger bus, Buscar from Kenya, registration number KDG 377G, that plies the Kampala Nairobi route, was impounded on Friday 13th September with over UGX 32 million worth of undeclared currency of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The bus was also found in possession of several undeclared assorted goods made up of body creams and lotions, body oils, perfumes, jewellery, motor vehicle spare parts, among others.
Before interception, the bus diligently offloaded all the cargo that was declared in the manifest at the URA Bus terminal and tried to proceed to the Central Business District for the illegal extraction. Armed with intelligence information, the URA enforcement officers intercepted the bus within Nakawa division and brought it back to URA Nakawa NIP yard for re-inspection.
After proper scanning and careful examination, a false compartment was discovered with 16 bundles of 100 papers of 20,000 notes of Congolese money (equivalent to UGX 32million) with a carton of beaded jewellery weighing 2kgs. By press time, no one had claimed the money.
Government of Uganda implements a routine procedure on individuals entering or departing the country with negotiable bearer instruments or cash equal to or exceeding 1500 currency points (where 1 currency point equals UGX20,000) in an effort to promote transparency and accountability in financial transactions.
In Uganda, section 10 (1) and Regulations 10(1) (a) and (b) of The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2013 requires a declaration to be made to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Customs at the border point. It is crucial to note that no tax is levied on the declared money.
Other goods discovered were as noted below and tagged to different taxpayers,
Mohammed Lubowa owned two pieces of isolated smart solar charge controller and an inverter of 22x100A, 230V while Rose Mayuuko had a carton of 6 pieces of rings. For motor vehicle spare parts, an unidentified cargo carton had 23 oil filters, 6 gaskets, 6 nozzles and 20 connecting rods. Another package contained 10 fuel filters, a water pump, an oil pump assembly, a hydraulic brake booster, 2 pieces of clutch master cylinder assembly and one brake clutch cylinder.
One of the biggest loot was in skincare, body creams, lotions, oils, serums and perfumes. Ten pieces of Vitamin C body scrub and another 10 pieces of Vitamin C shower gel were also uncovered. Wobi was attached to 29 pieces of turmeric super whitening face cream, 60 pieces of serums including Dr. Rashel, 84 pieces of skin care soap, and 174 pieces of skin lotions and creams. An additional 214 pieces of body creams and lotions were found attached to a one Juice Mata and 288 pieces of body oils and skincare products whose owners were allegedly unknown.
Cyprian /Kiwala had 132 pieces of assorted litres of perfumes with over 76 empty glass containers weighing 20kgs. Another 360 pieces of assorted perfumes were included attached to Omo Sheila who also brought in 202 pieces of assorted body and skincare oils, lotions, serums and creams. Other items included food items such as 165kgs of Basmati rice and 576 pieces of Red Kidney beans made in Egypt.
Similarly, Sec 199 of the East African Community Customs Act of 2004, as amended, sets a fine of not more than USD 5,000 for any means of conveyance used in smuggling, in this case the Buscar passenger bus.
URA urges the public and traders to always follow the right Customs procedures while importing goods into the country to avoid falling prey to unlawful trade practices and adverse consequences.
Additional reporting by Alex Murungi
