Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) enforcement officers at Entebbe International Airport have intercepted 448 mobile phones valued at more than Shs281 million in a series of operations targeting illicit trade.
According to URA Assistant Commissioner for Public and Corporate Affairs, Robert Kalumba, the latest seizures highlight a growing trend of smartphone smuggling as traffickers attempt to evade taxes.
In one incident, smugglers allegedly collaborated with terminal cleaners in an inside operation aimed at bypassing standard security checks.
“Inside a restroom, a cleaner received high-value smartphones and concealed 40 handsets in her underwear. Her stiff and unnatural walk drew the attention of enforcement officers, who intercepted her and ordered a detailed search that uncovered all the hidden devices,” Kalumba said.
He added that other smugglers attempted to exploit the airport’s VIP facilities to avoid tax obligations.
“In a separate operation, officers disrupted a suspected high-end black-market network reportedly using the airport’s premium lounge. Acting on specific intelligence, they intercepted a traveller posing as a VIP passenger and searched the individual's luxury luggage, discovering 60 high-end smartphones and effectively dismantling the scheme,” Kalumba said.
Meanwhile, URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi has urged taxpayers to choose compliance over smuggling, citing the ongoing tax waiver programme.
The scheme provides a 100 percent waiver of accumulated interest and penalties for taxpayers who settle all outstanding principal domestic taxes incurred up to June 30, 2024, provided payment is made by June 30, 2026.
Musinguzi said the programme offers taxpayers an opportunity to regularise their tax affairs while supporting government revenue mobilisation efforts.
