KRA impounds vehicles disguised as hospital donations at Mombasa port
KRA officials at the Mombasa port on January 31, 2017 offload one of the two Mercedes Benzes in transit to Uganda. The cars had been disguised as humanitarian and hospital donations. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Scanned images of the container showed it was loaded with two Mercedes Benz vehicles.
- But declaration documents stated that the container was loaded with assorted humanitarian and hospital donations.
- Scanning showed that the container also had tiles which had not been declared.
- In October 2016, KRA intercepted two Range Rovers at the port with a duty value of Sh15 million.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has intercepted a container at the Mombasa port with two luxury vehicles that were not declared by the importer and were disguised as hospital donations.
Scanned images of the container showed it was loaded with two Mercedes Benzes but declaration documents stated the container was loaded with assorted humanitarian and hospital donations.
The vehicles, with a duty value of Sh4 million, arrived at the port on board the MV Delmas Keta on September 12, 2016, said KRA southern regional manager Nicholas Kinoti.
The container was imported from the US and was in transit to Uganda.
CONTAINER SCANNED
“KRA’s enforcement officers at the port subjected the container to scanning process on January 27.
"Upon scanning, the image contradicted the declaration in the manifest as it showed tiles at the entrance of the container, assorted items and two vehicles,” he said.
Mr Kinoti added that the tiles and the vehicles had not been declared.
He said KRA had invested heavily in scanning equipment and reiterated that the authority would continue being vigilance until cartels are eliminated.
“We will be more vigilant and embrace stringent measures including sharing of intelligence and risk management in the fight against contraband goods to safeguard the country’s territorial integrity while facilitating legitimate trade,” he added.
In October 2016, KRA intercepted two Range Rover vehicles at the port with a duty value of Sh15 million.
