Five people including two KRA officers have been charged with handling goods smuggled from South Korea.
They are
Kenya Revenue Authority officers Frida Mganga and Barasa Luvisa,
Francis Kaigua, Agnes Wairimu of Bullion Metal Works and Kapwell Enterprises cleaning agent
Joseph Muia.
They were charged with conspiring with others not before the court to export scrap batteries,
which are restricted goods, on October 10.
This was allegedly in two
containers that were to be smuggled through the Port of Mombasa, contrary to provision of the
East African Community [EAC] Customs Management Act.
Kaigua, Kaigua and Luvisa were also charged with knowingly exporting concealed goods disguised as Kenyan tea.
Muia was also charged with making an incorrect customs entry.
“According to the customs entry declaration the containers were said to contain 880 bags of Kenya tea," said
Nicholas Kinoti,
KRA deputy commissioner for the southern region.
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Kinoti said the exporter was identified as
Kakuzi Ltd and the clearing agent as
Kapwell Limited from Nairobi.
The five denied the charges before
Mombasa chief magistrate Douglas Ogoti on Wednesday.
Their lawyer Gakuhi Gakue asked the court to release them on bond as they are Kenyans.
“Having appeared in court this day, my clients have demonstrated that they will come to court if asked to at any given time,” he said.
They were released on Sh200,000 bond or Sh50,000 cash bail each.
They will appear before Mombasa principal magistrate Henry Nyakweba for the mentioning of the case on November 10.
Kinoti
said last week that the taxman had made a breakthrough in the
fight against the smuggling of contraband goods.
He said the scrap batteries were seized following the receipt of intelligence reports by KRA's office at the Kenya Ports Authority.
