By Mulengera Reporters
Nakasongola– The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has intensified its enforcement efforts, shutting down a notorious cigarette smuggling operation along Lake Kyoga.
With increased vigilance at the Pakwach checkpoint blocking contraband smuggled through porous border points, smugglers have resorted to using Lake Kyoga to sneak illicit tobacco into Uganda. However, URA’s Team One Enforcement was quick to dismantle this growing trend before it could take root.
A Toyota Drone, Reg No. UBJ 362 F, infamously known as the ‘Black Mamba’, had become a key player in smuggling Oris cigarettes from South Sudan via the Apac-Masindi route.
URA’s information managers, strategically placed on the Apac-Kiryandongo (Masindi Port) ferry, tracked the vehicle’s movements and relayed real-time updates to enforcement teams.
On March 7, 2025, as the Black Mamba disembarked from the ferry, URA’s motorcycle scouts at Masindi Port and River Kafu Junction monitored its movements, setting up an ambush in Kakooge, Nakasongola District. A high-speed chase ensued, forcing the suspects, a male driver and a female accomplice, to abandon the vehicle and escape into a swamp.
URA enforcement officers seized the vehicle, transporting it to URA Headquarters in Nakawa for verification and offense management. Upon inspection, 3,688 bombas of Oris cigarettes were recovered from the smuggling vehicle.
The penalty for using a vehicle to smuggle contraband into Uganda is forfeiture of that vehicle to the state, a stark warning to would-be offenders.
URA remains steadfast in its commitment to curbing smuggling and protecting Uganda’s economy from illicit trade. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
