This archive report was first published on 6 July 2019.
On Friday, July 5, 2019, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers intercepted two containers at the Port of Mombasa, which had been misdeclared as 1000 bags of cement.
According to KRA Commissioner of Customs and Border Control, Kevin Safari, the containers were scanned through KRA's non-intrusive scanners, revealing inconsistency with the declared contents.
A multi-agency team led by KRA undertook 100% verification on the consignment and confirmed that the containers were carrying 28,800 liters of concealed ethanol and a Range Rover Sport.
The drums, with a capacity of 200 liters each, were concealed in 285 boxes of spaghetti to prevent detection.
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 KES 6 million per 20-foot container, and the authority could have lost at least KES 12 million in taxes if the smugglers had succeeded.
The vehicle's country of origin is the United Kingdom, and its consignor is in Dubai, UAE, while the consignee is in Kampala, Uganda.
