Rampant smuggling in Namayingo District has caused a lot of distress among the residents as the products being smuggled are sold at low prices while those that are legally imported have become less attractive.
The complaints were raised by local traders to Police in Namayingo on 16th November 2022 during a meeting on how to curb illegal trade in the area.
According to the law-abiding local traders, this has generated big losses in returns for their businesses as smugglers always sell their goods at low prices.
“Smugglers have caused a big loss to our businesses because their goods are sold cheaply since they don’t pay taxes. So the customers see our products as being expensive and they end up not buying as they prefer cheap ones,” one of the traders said.
The local traders are requesting and calling upon Police to come in and handle smugglers because they have caused distortion in prices of locally produced commodities resulting to losses of potential farm income, a slowdown in farm output production and increased income inequality.
The residents of Namayingo revealed that, the smuggled items are wheat flour, Kenyan and Tanzanian silverfish nets, Tanzanian gill nets for Nile perch and Kenyan cooking oil, as wheat flour being the most smuggled item every after three days weekly.
According to preliminary information given by Police in Namayingo, the prime suspects involved in smuggling different products have been identified as Vicky Oundo, a resident of Kandege village in Lolwe West parish, Otieno Philip Waka from Singila West Village and Barasa Francis, a resident of Mwango village, both in Lolwe East parish, among others.
Other smugglers are Mukudas Faruk and Kakaire Hakim dealing in Tanzanian gill nets.
Smuggling is an illegal trade that smugglers use to avoid paying customs duties and taxes and this generates large losses in revenues for both law-abiding companies and the Government. Smugglers are a big threat to the country as they deprive Government tax revenue because they cross products illegally without payment of tax.
Security forces in Namayingo are carrying out further investigations and tightening border security to help curb the illegal activities.
