Namibia destroyed a consignment of smuggled tobaccos with an estimated value of more than 5 million Namibian dollars (about 360,000 U.S dollars) at Katima Mulilo, about 1,200 kilometers north-east of the captial city Windhoek.
The contraband was confiscated from bootleggers by the customs officials over some time.
The deputy director at the finance ministry Willbroad Poniso said the tobacco was imported into the country illegally by some unscrupulous businesspeople thereby depriving the government revenue.
He also said some of the smuggled tobacco and alcohol products are high risk goods and that for that reason customs administrations are working with identified stakeholders to curb the crime.
“This partnership with sister administrations and other law enforcement agencies has yielded positive results. It is through partnerships that we learned of fictitious declarations being used by providing addresses that are non-existent,” Poniso said.
He added that some of the goods were declared as in transit but never reached the destinations indicated on the declaration forms. Enditem.
Source: Xinhua
