Overview:
The goods which included cosmetics with hydroquinone substances, used undergarments, sex toys, expired beers and foodstuffs which were impounded by enforcement teams across the country from different operations.
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has destroyed 180 tonnes of contraband goods valued at more than a billion shillings at Luweero industries in Nakasongola District.
The goods which included cosmetics with hydroquinone substances, used undergarments, sex toys, expired beers and foodstuffs which were impounded by enforcement teams across the country from different operations.
Milton Rahuka, the manager for warehousing in the customs department at URA, said the items were confiscated and collected over one year of enforcement operations.
According to Rahuka, the items were mostly impounded from along the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
Ian Mukisa, the supervisor for waste management at Luwero Industries, says that the consignment will be crushed and directly landfilled. He adds that the use of this method was determined by the sensitivity and bulkiness of the consignment.
Jane Okello, the general manager of Rugarwana Industries, a company that was contracted to transport the contraband to Nakasongola said that more contraband still awaits transportation, including cigarettes, electronics, and soap.
Several boxes containing copies of the Holy Quran were also discovered among the contraband items, but they were not destroyed.
URA said the destruction of these goods is in accordance with sections 18 and 248 of the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA).