KIGALI - The Revenue Protection Department (RPD) seized tones of goods worth over Rwf 40 million that were smuggled into the country from Uganda via Gatuna border, Thursday, under the guise of being in transit to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Stephen Ssemuwemba, the driver of the truck registration number UAL 813H, was arrested Thursday, afternoon by RPD and police as the goods were being offloaded at a warehouse in Gikondo Industrial Park.

The owner of the goods, identified by police as Longin Rudasingwa, is believed to be on the run after police failed to locate him and his phone was switched off.

A Ugandan trader, Deo Nizurugero, believed to have shares in the smuggled goods, was also arrested after he attempted to bribe an RPD official with Rwf 5 million.

According to the Director of RPD, Robert Mugabe, the owners tried to evade taxes by getting a Rwanda Revenue seal at the Gatuna border that gave them access to travel through Rwanda to Goma as goods in transit.

"Our informants contacted us the moment the truck diverted to Gikondo. We arrived when they had broken the seal and hired manpower to offload the goods into a warehouse,” Mugabe said.

"We monitored this truck the moment it set off from Kampala after being tipped off by our informants.”
The impounded goods included cartons of spirits like Uganda Waragi and Bond 7, foodstuffs like tomato sauce, clothing and an assortments of other products. 

Mugabe added that due to the bribery case involved, the act had become a criminal offense and was subject to other laws other than customs laws.

"The EAC Customs Management Act provides that the goods as well as the vessel be confiscated; but in circumstances like this where bribery is involved, it has become a criminal case,” he added.

He said that smuggling goods into the country not only robs the government of valuable taxes, but also jeopardizes the economy.

"When untaxed goods enter the market, it creates an unfair trading ground which in turn affects genuine traders and kills their businesses,” Mugabe said.

Meanwhile, police managed to uncover two more broken seals from the warehouse, which has opened new channels of investigation into similar acts that may have happened in the past around the same place.

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