KRA seizes two stolen high-end cars at Port

The Kenya Revenue Authority on Friday intercepted two concealed high-end vehicles, a Range Rover Sport and a BMW X5, imported through Mombasa Port.

They are believed to have been stolen from the United Kingdom.

The vehicles arrived at the Port of Mombasa in a 40-foot container on Februry 19 aboard the MV Maersk Brooklyn, from the UK, a KRA statement said.

On February 27, KRA Customs officers received intelligence reports that the containers had suspected stolen motor vehicles. KRA requested the Kenya Ports Authority to place the two containers on hold and subject them to scanning and verification at the Customs Warehouse,” the statement said.

Import documents indicated that the container was carrying one Mercedes-Benz  A180 and a BMW 125I Sport.

When the container was scanned on March 28, images revealed the shapes of the two high-end vehicles. Upon verification by a multi-agency team on April 3, the container was found with one unit used Range Rover Sport HSE SDV6 and One unit used BMW X5.

The vehicles declared in the manifest and bill of lading was not found in the container, Customs and Border Control Commissioner Kelvin Safari said.

The manifest indicated the exporter was Kola Solomon from London and the consignee was listed as Namanya Alex of Kampala, Uganda.

A month ago, KRA intercepted three high-end  cars at the port which were declared as household goods. Following the seizure, a multi-agency team of local and international enforcement agencies is probing the international vehicle smuggling cartel.