This archive report was first published on 5 July 2019.
On Friday, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) made a significant seizure at the port of Mombasa, intercepting a high-end vehicle and 144 drums of ethanol that had been mis-declared.
The Range Rover Sport, suspected to have been stolen in the United Kingdom, was declared as second-hand window frames, doors, folding chairs, stools, and wall pictures. The ethanol, valued at over Sh12 million in taxes, was concealed in 285 boxes of spaghetti at the entrance of the containers to prevent detection.
According to KRA, the importation of ethanol is restricted, with only licensed firms and dealers allowed to import the product to reduce the manufacturing of illicit alcohol. Ethanol attracts an excise duty rate of Sh6 million per 20-foot container.
The vehicle's country of origin is the United Kingdom, and its consignor is based in Dubai, UAE, while the consignee is in Kampala, Uganda.
On July 5, 2019, KRA's non-intrusive scanners detected inconsistency in the images of the containers, prompting a multi-agency team to undertake verification on the consignment.
