By Our Reporter
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has impounded 427 assorted mobile phones worth an estimated USD 35,000 in a dramatic anti-smuggling operation at Entebbe International Airport, exposing bizarre and brazen methods used by smugglers attempting to sneak contraband into the country.
As the financial year drew to a close, URA enforcement teams heightened surveillance amid a noticeable uptick in smuggling attempts. What followed was a cat-and-mouse game of catwalks and concealment, where fashion met fraud in the most unexpected ways.
In what officials described as a “smuggling runway,” returning passengers deployed creatively outrageous tricks to hide mobile phones—transforming undergarments and travel attire into mobile warehouses.
Corsets, Garters & Artificial Bums
According to URA, both men and women participated in this clandestine catwalk. Men were found wearing tight corsets filled with phones, while elderly women used garters and leggings sewn with hidden compartments. Some jackets were so overstuffed they looked like “cramped apartments in Kyanja,” enforcement officers joked.
In one startling case, a woman was discovered with 32 Samsung phones strapped to her torso and thighs—so tightly wrapped, they fit like a second skin. Another smuggler attempted to pass off a suspicious bulge as a cosmetic enhancement—labeled “BBL” (Brazilian Butt Lift)—but a search revealed an artificial bum stuffed with 24 assorted phones.
International Twist: Eritrean & Sudanese Nationals Involved
The operation also netted foreign nationals. Several individuals from Eritrea and Sudan were caught with mobile phones taped and strapped to their bodies. One Eritrean man stood out for his odd “humpback” appearance, which raised the officers’ suspicions. Upon inspection, his “hump” turned out to be a corset packed with 23 Samsung A23 phones, wrapped tightly around his chest.
“A real medical condition would have made it difficult to move, but he was surprisingly agile,” one enforcement officer remarked.
Total Seizure & Next Steps
In total, 427 phones were intercepted during the operation, and offence management proceedings are now underway, URA confirmed. The phones are believed to have been smuggled to evade taxes and regulatory compliance—depriving the country of crucial revenue.
URA has warned travelers and would-be smugglers that the authority remains vigilant and will continue deploying intelligence-led enforcement operations to clamp down on illegal trade.
“Smugglers are getting more creative, but so are we,” a URA spokesperson stated. “Uganda’s borders will not be playgrounds for tax cheats, regardless of how fashionable they think their methods are.”
The operation underscores URA’s resolve to tighten revenue enforcement and protect local markets from black market influxes—reminding all that the cost of smuggling goes beyond confiscated goods; it includes criminal prosecution, fines, and reputational damage.