Breaking!! URA Recovers Smuggled Phones Worth Ugx 368 Million
A phone smuggler’s lucky streak came to a sudden end in Mukono when the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Enforcement Team One carried out a successful raid and intercepted a large consignment of smuggled phones worth Ugx 368 million.
The smuggler had been sneaking phones into Uganda using the waters of Lake Victoria. These phones, mostly feature phones and desk phones—1,040 of them—were brought in from Kenya and secretly landed at points in Mukono district. For a while, the smuggler had been operating quietly, thinking he had outsmarted authorities.
But URA was already a step ahead.
For two weeks, undercover informants—known as confidential informers (CIs)—were silently watching every move at the landing sites. These informers played a major role in tracking the smuggler without raising alarm. Their information helped URA’s Team One plan a surprise operation that would catch the suspect red-handed.
The phones were being transported in a Toyota Noah with registration number UBA 481T. When the team finally moved in, they seized both the car and the illegal goods. Everything was then transported to URA Headquarters for further handling.
And that wasn’t the only success for URA’s Enforcement Team One.
Just a day before the Mukono interception, the team had recovered another batch of smuggled phones in Naguru. This time, 907 Samsung smartphones were found and seized. These back-to-back victories showed just how effective the enforcement team has become in dealing with phone smuggling.
Phone smuggling has become a serious challenge in Uganda. The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has already put in place measures to fight it, including requiring all phones to be registered with valid IMEI numbers to prevent counterfeits. But smugglers are still trying to find new ways around the system.
To respond, URA has strengthened its border security and surveillance at the airport. They are now using advanced Non-Intrusive Inspection tools to scan and detect illegal items without needing to open everything up manually.
The recovered phones in Mukono and Naguru are estimated to carry a tax value of Ugx 368 million. That’s enough money to build a Health Centre II in a place like Kapelebyong, which could help thousands of Ugandans.
URA has said it will continue its efforts to stop smuggling in all forms. The message is clear: smuggling might seem easy for a while, but URA is always watching and ready.
