The customs enforcement team stationed in Busia district received a tip-off from a newly recruited informant regarding a suspicious truck. This truck, with registration No. KCE 941Q, had been tracked from Kenya through the Tira porous point, making its way to the Busia-Kenya border. Upon inspection, it was found to be loaded with assorted hardware items.
At approximately 1:45 p.m., the perpetrator attempted to sneak past the recently established checkpoint at the Amungura bridge. However, unbeknownst to him, he fell into the smuggling trap meticulously set up by the URA team, bypassing multiple checkpoints along the way.
Moses Amwine, the customs station in-charge, disclosed that once the truck and its contents were apprehended and brought to their office, the smuggler returned and settled a total of UGX 56 million in taxes and penalties to avoid further consequences.
A local resident, who chose to remain anonymous, commented, “Busia town thrives on smuggling activities; it’s impossible to stop it.”
However, Amwine emphasized that URA continues its efforts to educate the Busia trading community about the detrimental effects of smuggling, particularly on the economy and overall trade.
A significant driver of smuggling in Busia is the disparity in commodity prices, with Kenyan products often perceived as more affordable, compelling residents to opt for them over their Ugandan counterparts.
Wilson Kasumba, the station in-charge for DT, highlighted that nearly 90% of the Busia trading community falls within the presumptive tax bracket.
Following the interception, the truck and its contents were transported to the URA tactical base in Busia for further examination. Upon verification, the items seized included various hardware products:
- 21 cartons containing 150 pieces of double open-end spanners (Size 20 x 22mm, Deluxe brand, Made in India)
- 10 packs of 10 pieces of combination spanners (Size 15mm, Dragon Hand brand)
- 1 carton of 2 sets of 12-piece ring spanners (Size 27mm)
- 1 carton of 30 packs of 10 pieces of combination spanners (Size 15mm, Dragon Hand brand, Made in India)
- 2 cartons of 20 packs of 10 pieces of ring spanners (Size 16 x 17mm, Deluxe brand, Made in India)
- 20 cartons containing 48 pieces of panga (Size 457mm, Alligator brand, Art no M212-18)
- 50 bags of 50 kilograms each of assorted sizes of mushroom head bolts with square nuts (Size 318×7-1/2)
- 100 packages of 24 pieces of plough wheels (31.5 kilograms per package)
- 50 packages of 10 pieces of ox-plough mouldboards (Golden Maize brand, 29 kilograms per package)
- 10 packages of 30 pieces of plough land slides (47 kilograms per package)
- 16 packages of 40 pieces of plough land slides (40 kilograms per package)
- 100 packages of 12 pieces of 2.5 kilograms of plough fitting chains (Size 7.5mm, Made in China)
