KRA intercepts smuggled goods worth KSh46.8 million in Eldoret

KRA intercepts smuggled goods worth KSh46.8 million in Eldoret. [Courtesy]

The Kenya Revenue Authority has intercepted smuggled goods worth an estimated KSh46.77 million in Eldoret.

The consignment that includes cigarettes, shisha tobacco products and powdered milk was found on a Simba Coach bus travelling from Uganda to Nairobi, according to KRA. The authority said taxes amounting to about KSh29.18 million were at risk.

The interception followed an intelligence-led operation targeting suspected smuggling on the Kenya-Uganda route.

KRA said the suspect had previously evaded enforcement officers and was allegedly using the passenger bus to transport excisable goods sourced from Uganda through porous border routes to Busia, where they were picked up for onward transportation to Nairobi.

Acting on the intelligence, officers mounted an ambush in Eldoret. The suspect allegedly fled after spotting the enforcement team, prompting a pursuit that ended at Kondoo in the Burnt Forest area.

The bus was escorted back to Eldoret and placed in KRA custody for inspection.

Officers found concealed compartments inside the bus, where the goods had allegedly been hidden.

The consignment included ORIS cigarettes valued at about KSh30.6 million, shisha tobacco and accessories worth KSh8.4 million, and powdered milk products valued at KSh7.77 million.

“The concealment of the goods in specially configured compartments within a passenger bus points to the increasingly sophisticated methods employed to evade detection along major transportation corridors,” KRA said.

The bus and goods remain in KRA custody as investigations continue.