By Frank Kamuntu
Yesterday, enforcement officers in Namayingo district held a truck registration number KDK 126E Isuzu for illegally importing green peas from Canada and mis-declaring them as peas from Kenya.
The suspects are currently in the URA custody, Nakawa for further investigation and penalty.
The customs officers acted on intelligence and examined the truck that was coming from Busia heading to Kampala via Namayingo – Musita route.
According to Lt. Rasulu Swaibu, one of the Customs officers in Namayingo, when the truck was first stopped, the owners declared Green peas as having originated from Kenya.
Following intelligence reports, the truck was later impounded and subjected to physical verification. Here, 240 bags of 50 kilograms of green peas were discovered.
“I discovered that there was an element of plucking off of original supplier tags from the packaging bags. I was able to confirm the country of origin of the goods as Canada, not Kenya as declared by the owner,” narrated Swaibu.
Mis-declaration is an offence according to the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA) under section 203. A person who commits this offence is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars.
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