Duach Chuol Kaylech Toang, a South Sudanese national was just a normal traveler crossing Malaba One Stop Border Post () by bus from Kenya to Uganda.
His final destination was South Sudan through Uganda. As is the norm, travelers crossing the border are checked and so is their hand luggage.
One by one, their hand luggage went through Uganda Revenue Authority’s non intrusive hand luggage scanner at the border without a problem until it was the turn for Duach’s luggage.
According to Ian Rumanyika, the Acting Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs at URA, the scanner picked up something uncanny which prompted the team to physically inspect the luggage.
“They found bundles of papers the size of a dollar and some liquid among other things. On face value, they were just papers but upon application of the liquid (chemical) contained in Duach’s luggage, the papers transformed into fake dollars. Immediately the suspect, Duach was arrested and he is set to face the law,” Rumanyika told Business Focus.
He added that the non-intrusive Inspection technology is a powerful tool against smuggling that continues to put many smugglers away.
“One of our mandates as URA is to collect revenue but also most importantly protect the economy and the community from substandard and counterfeit goods. It is in that respect that we arrested Kaylech,” Rumanyika said, adding that he is being interrogated to know whether there’s a racket he’s working with.
He will later be transferred from Malaba to Kampala for further prosecution.
