“You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time,” the unanimously accepted father of the land of the free – Abraham Lincoln famously quoted.

This played out here in Kampala last week when the URA Customs Enforcement Team One busted a smuggling ring specializing in premium tech gadgets through a 3 three-day stealth operation.

Three renowned tech shops in three prime shopping hubs belonging to one mastermind were targeted. By the end of the operation, uncustomed goods whose tax value is estimated at a whopping Ugx 443,362,476/= shillings were rounded up and taken to Nakawa HQ for customs verification and processing.

The shops involved in the smuggling ring are located in Kisementi, Pioneer Mall and Lugogo. A plethora of tech gadgets including top-of-the-range smartphones, Mac computers, tablets, power banks, Bluetooth speakers and all manner of accessories were recovered.

The smuggler’s M.O. was simple yet mysterious. Goods would first be imported into DR Congo, then through the porous borderline between DR Congo and Uganda – the goods would find their way into Uganda ending up at the three shops in Kampala.

An intricate intel-gathering job that saw Customs collaborating with other authorities like Uganda Police did the smuggler in, pinpointing the authorities to the shops ultimately bringing an end to his misdeeds.

Before one attempts to try one’s hand at the ‘dirty trade’ that is smuggling, it is worth considering the punitive ramifications of being caught. For instance, while the 311 assorted pieces of tech recovered from the Forest Mall shop attract taxes worth only Ugx 46,034,727/=, a penalty of Ugx 56,028,596/= was activated bringing the total amount payable to Ugx 102,063,323/=.

The Pioneer Mall shop’s scenario was even more daunting with the 291 items recovered attracting taxes worth only Ugx 66,711,657/= but with the penalty of Ugx 85,146,643/= activated, the amount payable shot up to Ugx 151,858,300/=.

From the Kisementi shop, the outstanding amount payable is Ugx 189,440,853/= with the taxes contributing Ugx 83,957,244/= and the penalties contributing Ugx 105,483,608/=.

While tax evasion remains an ostensibly attractive venture, it is less costly for a business to comply with taxes than to evade. Beyond the significant damage to the business once caught, smuggling also causes revenue loss and undermines legitimate businesses by way of unfair competition through ridiculous price cuts.

A few days ago, the Customs team at Entebbe Airport recovered phones worth up to Ugx 200,000,000/= in taxes.

Customs remains committed to leveraging technology, intelligence gathering and synergies with partners like the Uganda Police to curb smuggling.

By Customs Team