Three ladies returning after a streak of work in the Middle East recently raised suspicion at Entebbe Airport.
Known as ‘Kadamas’ they walked majestically, clad in head veils. They had an unusually high number of suitcases.
It is those large suitcases that became the problem. For starters, the ladies did not want the suitcases to be scanned by the customs, as it is the practice.
So when a vigilant border control officer flagged them for verification to confirm the contents of their cases, one of the ‘kadamas’ responded: “All we have are items for home use and used clothes.”
The three ladies then lingered near the scanner area, clearly considering an escape. As the crowd around the scanner grew, one of them suddenly pivoted, and together with her companions, they bolted out of the arrivals terminal, pushing their trolleys with baggage in tow.
This prompted the officers to spring into action, leading to a chase that culminated in the parking lot. Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) says trio’s getaway car was already prepared, with the engine running and the trunk open.
The enforcement and border control officer successfully retrieved six suitcases, which, when opened, revealed phone screens concealed beneath layers of used clothing.
Similarly, surveillance of the operation area rewarded another officer with four bags full of phone screens, which had been “abandoned” near the handler’s offices with the owner buying time to smuggle them out.
After a full search the URA Entebbe enforcement team discovered that they contained 1,172 packets of button phone screens and 22,837 packets of LCD/LED phone screens, valued at $90,000 last week.
URA says smart phone screens, like any other imports, are subjected to the importation guidelines as stipulated in the East Africa Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA) are required to pay import duty, VAT of 18%, WHT of 6% and Infrastructural levy of 1.5%.
Concealment of goods with the aim to smuggle contravenes section 202 where penalty is 50% of the value. Therefore the Kadamas are likely to be fined $45,000 (Shs 160 million).
