The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has intercepted unauthorised goods worth Ksh280 million at the Port of Mombasa, thwarting an attempt to smuggle contraband cigarettes into the country.
In a statement issued on Friday, KRA said the seizure involved more than 9.3 million sticks of contraband cigarettes with an estimated market value of Ksh281.1 million.
"The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has intercepted over 9.3 million sticks of contraband cigarettes with a market value of Ksh281.1 million at the Port of Mombasa. The seizure foiled an attempt to unlawfully import the goods in a 40-foot container," KRA said.
The interception was based on actionable intelligence, leading the KRA to assemble a multi-agency verification team to examine the consignment.
Due to the nature of the cargo, officers conducted a 100 per cent physical examination to ensure compliance with tax, standards, and enforcement regulations.
The operation brought together officers from KRA, Port Police, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA), Port Health Services, and the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
The joint inspection confirmed the consignment comprised 937 cartons containing 9,370,000 sticks of cigarettes that were labelled “Made in Sudan,” despite the country of consignment being Cambodia.
KRA revealed that the shipment was routed through Singapore before arriving in Kenya and was allegedly destined for South Sudan, with investigations establishing that the total taxes payable on the goods amounted to Ksh83,393,000.
Further, the tax liability included Ksh38,417,000 in excise duty and Ksh44,976,000 in value-added tax (VAT), with the taxman saying that the attempted smuggling posed a risk to public health and undermined legitimate trade.
The operation was carried out barely six days after the authority seized a Ksh16.26 million consignment of illicit ethanol near the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) corridor in Nairobi, after acting on intelligence indicating the movement of unauthorised ethanol in the area.
Officers from the KRA Enforcement Team, Nairobi, swung into action after receiving information that lorries reported to be transporting ethanol had been sighted within a yard near the SGR corridor. However, the taxman said that upon arrival, their officers found that the lorries had already departed.
Despite the lorries leaving the scene, the enforcement team recovered the illicit ethanol that had been offloaded and stored within the yard. The seizure included 20 drums, each with a capacity of 250 litres, totalling 5,000 litres of ethanol.
