The National Revenue Authority (NRA) has intercepted for tax evasion 64 cases of Malawian tobacco valued at $11,520 at the NRA check point in Port Loko.
NRA’s Customs officer in charge of the check point, Alhassan Conteh, told Awoko that the tobacco cases were 100 kilograms valued at 180 dollars per case.
He said the owners of the consignments were traders from Makeni who arrived at the check point purportedly with a receipt issued at the Kambia Customs for only nine cases of tobacco with some plastics valued at two million Leones.
Alhassan Conteh further explained that the consignments were later escorted to the Customs department in Freetown.
The Kambia Customs collector, Vandy Mansaray who issued the said receipt, explained that a vehicle carrying groundnut bags arrived at the check point and he insisted that the vehicle be thoroughly searched.
He disclosed that it was during the search that he discovered the nine tobacco cases among the groundnut bags.
Mr Mansaray singled out Barmoi Luma as the melting point for smugglers, and suggested that it might be possible that the traders picked up the other cases from this area.
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