KRA seizes smuggled ethanol and Range Rover at Mombasa port
Members of the multi-agency team that conducted the verification exercise that revealed the smuggled ethanol and Range Rover SUV at the Mombasa port. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Taxman intercepts 144 drums of ethanol and a Range Rover SUV mis-declared as cement and household goods respectively.
- The vehicle is suspected to have been stolen from the United Kingdom.
- Ethanol importation is restricted and only allowed for licensed firms and dealers in bid to stem the production of illicit alcohol.
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers have seized three containers with ethanol and a high-end motor vehicle worth millions of shillings at the Port of Mombasa.
Custom officers intercepted 144 drums of imported ethanol and one Range Rover Sports Utility Vehicle suspected to have been stolen from the United Kingdom.
According to the manifest, the consignor for the Range Rover is in Dubai, UAE, while the consignee is in Kampala, Uganda. The vehicle's country of origin is the United Kingdom.
Commissioner of Customs and Border Control Kevin Safari said ethanol had been mis-declared as 1,000 bags of cement and hidden in spaghetti boxes.
The SUV had been stated as household goods.
"Customs officers have seized another high-end motor-vehicle, a Range Rover Sports suspected to have been stolen from the United Kingdom which had been declared as second-hand window frames, doors, folding chairs, stools and wall pictures," said Mr Safari in a statement.
VERIFICATION
He said the ethanol was imported in two 20-feet containers while the vehicle was in another 20-foot container.
"They were scanned through KRA's non-intrusive scanners and the images showed inconsistency with what had been manifested."
He said verification by a multi-agency team led by KRA officers revealed that the three containers were carrying 28,800 litres of concealed ethanol and a Range Rover.
The drums, Mr Safari added, had been hidden by 285 boxes of spaghetti at the entrance of the containers to prevent the law enforcers from detecting the ethanol.
The mode of concealment, he noted, was similar to the recent seizure of a shipment of smuggled ethanol declared as imported spaghetti at the Inland Container Depot in Nairobi.
Ethanol importation is restricted and only allowed for licensed firms and dealers in bid to stem the production of illicit alcohol.
According to the taxman, the government would have lost Sh12 million in taxes as ethanol attracts an excise duty of Sh6 million per 20-foot container.
