Tax officers caught people smuggling phone parts worth $90,000 at Entebbe airport last week. They found over 1,100 packets of button phone screens and almost 23,000 packets of smartphone screens hidden in luggage. The smugglers paid people coming home from Middle East jobs to carry goods without telling officials.
Three women ran away when officers asked to check their bags. They pushed their carts toward a car waiting outside, but security caught them before they escaped. Their six suitcases held layers of phone screens under clothes. Officers also found four more bags that someone left behind, full of screens.
Airport workers helped catch one person trying to sneak out three bags marked as urgent airline cargo. Another group splits up screens among many travelers on the same flight. They met later at the parking lot to give everything to one person. This person had over 3,000 phone screens, four laptops, and 20 smartphones when officials caught him loading his car.
These items require special taxes like import duty, VAT, and other fees. Hiding goods can cost smugglers half the value of a fine. The tax office has better ways to spot suspicious travelers and watches airport areas closely through cameras.
Three women ran away when officers asked to check their bags. They pushed their carts toward a car waiting outside, but security caught them before they escaped. Their six suitcases held layers of phone screens under clothes. Officers also found four more bags that someone left behind, full of screens.
Airport workers helped catch one person trying to sneak out three bags marked as urgent airline cargo. Another group splits up screens among many travelers on the same flight. They met later at the parking lot to give everything to one person. This person had over 3,000 phone screens, four laptops, and 20 smartphones when officials caught him loading his car.
These items require special taxes like import duty, VAT, and other fees. Hiding goods can cost smugglers half the value of a fine. The tax office has better ways to spot suspicious travelers and watches airport areas closely through cameras.
