URA Teams Clamp Down on Smuggling Networks Nationwide

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) enforcement teams carried out coordinated operations across the country this week, leading to the interception of various smuggling activities. In one of the incidents in Tororo, URA officers thwarted an attempt to smuggle undocumented cookware. The confiscated goods included 843 stainless steel cookware items, 17 boxes of cookware and dinner sets, 26 Galaxi blenders, 690 Thermo Maxx food warmers, and 126 pieces of Alyamamah sofa covers.

Before seizing the goods, the smuggler demanded a search certificate from the URA officers. Acting swiftly, the officers obtained the necessary document, allowing them to conduct the search. Meanwhile, they kept the apartment in Amagoro B under surveillance to prevent the smuggler from moving the goods to a nearby truck that had been strategically parked for the escape.

Shortly after this incident, the team received intelligence about another smuggling attempt involving suspected Dunia Ngano wheat flour from Kenya. The goods had reportedly been delivered to a bakery store at St. Francis of Assisi Secondary School in Iyolwa Village. On the evening of October 1st, the officers searched the premises and recovered 45 cartons of Dunia wheat flour weighing a total of 1,080 kilograms.

In Namayingo, URA intercepted a truck (Reg. UBH 540S) loaded with 1,175 kilograms of smuggled rice. The rice, packed in 25-kilogram bags, included 24 bags of Baraf rice, 13 bags of Indu rice, and 10 bags of Karama rice. The operation was part of a wider effort to clamp down on illegal imports coming through Muwayo town.

Meanwhile, in the Acholi sub-region, traders frequently exploit porous border points with South Sudan to smuggle various goods into Uganda. Popular contraband items include rice, cigarettes, toothpaste, cooking oil, fuel, powdered milk, and sweets. On September 30, 2024, URA’s enforcement team conducted a raid in rural Anaka, Nwoya District, targeting a house suspected of storing smuggled goods. With the support of local leaders, officers uncovered 380 liters of fuel, 60 liters of cooking oil, and 475 kilograms of Pakistani rice.

In Mbale, a URA operation intercepted a Probox vehicle (Reg. UBP 209G) attempting to smuggle 55 cartons of Pembe wheat flour weighing 1,320 kilograms. Additionally, another 68 cartons of Dunia wheat (weighing 1,632 kilograms) and 770 kilograms of smuggled bar soap packed in 77 cartons were also confiscated in the city.

The URA continues to crack down on smuggling in accordance with Sections 200 and 203 of the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACMMA). Offenders caught concealing goods face penalties of up to five years imprisonment or a fine amounting to half of the dutiable value of the smuggled goods.

Offense management procedures are currently underway for the cases identified. URA emphasizes its commitment to protecting society from the negative impacts of smuggled goods, while also safeguarding legitimate traders and manufacturers from unfair competition caused by contraband supplies.

URA said it has increased its intelligence capabilities to counter these activities as traders develop more inventive ways to evade taxes and smuggle goods. The authority has urged all traders to adhere to established trade procedures, warning that even if enforcement officers fail to catch offenders, the 27 non intrusive scanners now deployed nationwide will detect smuggling attempts.