Man arrested for disguising as URA customs officer to defraud public
Uganda Revenue Authority has arrested a man who defrauded the public by disguising as a customs officer.
According to the tax body, in December 2018, Batte Kasim Abdul who claimed to be a clearing agent with Intra Cargo informed a client (complainant) that Uganda Revenue Authority was going to auction some vehicles.
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The suspect told the complainant about the availability of two vehicles, a Toyota Harrier and a Sahara Pick-up both in good condition.
“Batte, dressed up in a white shirt emblazoned with a Uganda Revenue Authority logo and customs pips (an imitation of the URA customs officers’ uniform) informed the client that he works in the Commissioner Customs Office.He then took the complainant to a place in Nakawa, near MUBS and generated assessments for the complainant. However, the assessments he issued the complainant were for payment of income tax,” a statement from URA says.
“To complete his con, Batte then first collected UGX 1,200,000 from the complainant and after some time, he was given an additional UGX 200,000 as a fee for registration number plates for each vehicle.”
Arrest
On Monday, Batte was arrested after an investigation by his victims indicated that he works with a clique of other people to defraud the public with the false promise of helping them secure vehicles and other goods being auctioned by URA.
The group according to the tax body , takes pictures of the items and sometimes brings the clients to the premises of URA before duping them.
“We have established that Batte has owned the fake URA uniform since 2015. We also found him in possession of counterfeit URA payment slips with serial reference numbers; 436, 437, 438 and 439.”
According to URA, the suspect is to be arraigned in court and charged accordingly.
“The Public is urged to remain vigilant and to always visit URA Offices whenever they have any inquiries on any of our services. The public is further encouraged to swiftly report cases of fraudsters to the nearest URA office or Police station so that such unscrupulous persons are put away,” URA said.
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