By Spy Uganda Investigative Crew
The 40 days for criminals who have for long been minting billions from the smuggling of illegal Kenyan Kay salt (premium), sun salt, cigarettes, and other contrabands have finally come to an end, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has warned!
In a deeper interview with our chief Spy Andrew Irumba on Tuesday, Paul Karatunga the Supervisor of Customs Enforcement in Eastern Uganda, revealed that they continue to register few pockets of smuggling, and that measures have heightened to kill the appetite of smugglers by slapping them with heavy penalties.
 Watch Karatunga Below Giving Toughest Warnings!
The Eastern border points include; Busia, Lwakhakha, Malaba, Manafwa, Kyebukube/Sona, Suam River and Busitema.
”It’s on record that for the past month, our squad has been trapping and intercepting a barrage of illegal goods being smuggled into the country, but this is a warning we are giving to the non-compliant importers, get out of this smuggling business or be ready to face the roughness of our enforcement team!” warned Karatunga.
How Smugglers Beat Border Checks
Asked how smugglers are able to pass on the border with smuggled goods with millions, Mr Edmund Rutebemberwa the URA custom supervisor at Busia OSBP, said they operate under risk management modules where; some importers are categorized under bulk clearance or bulk payments, automatic clearance, documentation clearance and physical examination, where by the first two types are treated as VVIPs where by they don’t understand go physical examination like the last category where physical inspection fir every product is done.
”Now the problem is here, these importers in the category of bulk clearance, they are immune in a way, we give them special clearance, and that means you may not check them physically because they have a lot of goods that are assembled and scanned by our machines, however these machines will only detect that inside the truck there is salt but will not tell you the brand of the salt or wordings there on. So smugglers hide the illegal brands deeper into the legal ones and pass it into Uganda,” said Rutebemberwa.
He said that when such a bulky clearance client is nabbed with contraband goods hidden in legal ones, he/she loses their VIP status, is penalized and brought back in the physical examination or document verification categories, which means his/her goods will be put under strict cross-examination before they are cleared. Rutebemberwa Further Clarifies In The Video Below
Once Snubbed, Smugglers Cough 50% Surcharge Heavy Penality !
Karatunga made it clear that once captured smuggling, the importer is slapped with a 50% surcharge, triple the price one pays legally. “We Charge shs440 per Kg of salt, but when we arrest you with illegal entry, you’re charged shs 1600 per Kg. We also charge the carrier/conveyor (means of transport). And we can charge up to USD 10000” Karatunga said.
He said, for instance, in July 2024, 11 tones of smuggled goods were seized which ‘manufactured’ Ugx16m as penalties.
Further, URA statistics revealed that from January to May 2024, 4643 interceptions were made on smugglers and Ugx7B was paid as penalty fees. This, Karatunga said was data for the Eastern axis i.e Malaba, Busia,Rwakhakha, Busitema, Mbale and Amdat (Karamoja) border points only.
Also, the Authority from June to July made 1733 interceptions against smugglers and Ugx2.71B was recovered as penalties.
Who Are The Main Players Of Salt Importation Into Uganda? URA Reveals
According to URA, the main players of salt Importation of salt into Uganda are two; Okapi Trading Ltd and Glory International Ltd. “According to our data, from June to July 2024, Glory International imported into Uganda, 25532 metric tonnes and paid shs11B in taxes. Okapi Trading Ltd imported 5935 metric tonnes and paid shs3B in taxes,” revealed Rutebemberwa.
URA Appeals To Public
URA urged the business community to be compliant to grow their business, as it’s more costly to deal in smuggled [magendo] goods. “Smuggling is dangerous to the country and economy, please be whistle-blowers once you see any products being snuggled,” he urged Ugandans.
According to The East African Community (EAC) Customs Management Act, a conveyor (means of transport) of a smuggled good can be charged up to USD 10000 as fine. The means of transport can be a bicycle, wheelbarrow, motorcycle, car, or boat on the water among others.
The Act aims to facilitate efficient customs procedures, enhance trade, and promote economic integration among the EAC Partner States. Watch the space….
