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The Tax Authority of Mozambique (AT) has, via Customs, seized ten vehicles full of diverse merchandise en route from South Africa on National Road Number Four (EN4) in Maputo province.
The minibuses were intercepted in the early hours of Tuesday morning carrying 460 boxes of chicken pieces, 400 boxes of chicken, beef, cornflour, yogurt, powder and liquid detergents, sugar and other goods.
According to Fernando Tinga of the Mozambican Customs, infractions including false declarations and documentation for the entry of goods into the country lay behind the seizures.
The operation resulted from extensive work across the country, he said, at a time when Customs were ramping up measures to ensure control over the import and export of goods.
“In the present case, the goods that were seized on the smuggling route did not have accompanying tax documents, or the prior documents requested by the authorities,” he said.
Tinga said the products would be incinerated because they may be unfit for human consumption, a situation that could have been avoided , he said, had the owners contacted the competent authorities to obtain the specific licenses required.
“Other goods seized in the same period include a truck containing over 600 fridges, freezers, washing machines, microwaves and other products also found on the contraband route, as well as two containers with more than three thousand boxes of counterfeit footwear,” Tinga reported.
Six individuals are currently under arrest on suspicion of being involved in smuggling, and will be held criminally liable.
“This is also the result of routine Customs work under the guidance of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) to which Mozambique is a party. Trade between countries which are part of the WCO should be lawful, so we cannot allow some operators to bring goods in without payment of customs duty,” Tinga said.
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