URA INTERCEPTS RESTRICTED WILDLIFE ITEMS AT AIRPORT

By EMMANUEL AINEBYOONA

Kampala. 
Uganda Revenue Authority on Tuesday intercepted a consignment of restricted goods that included Blue wilder beast skulls, Kudu, Impala and Bontek skins at Entebbe International Airport.

According to Ms Kellen Kiconco, the acting Customs Preventive Team superviser, the items were concealed in a consignment offloaded from Ethiopian Airlines. The owner of the consignment had reportedly earlier flown to South Africa.

Documents available indicate that the suspect left Juba, South Sudan with the consignment before flying off to South Africa.

“The items were confiscated during a routine verification of goods in transit,” Ms Kiconco said.

Wildlife conservation
“All items were handed over to the Uganda Wildlife Authority in the presence of the aviation police at the Entebbe International Airport,” Ms Kiconco added.

She said Uganda is committed to enforcing the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora and the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA) 2004, under part B of restricted goods which protects the sanctity of endangered species of world flora and fauna and their products.

Meanwhile, investigations into the theft of 1,355kg of ivory from UWA’s strong room are underway. 
The stolen ivory is estimated to cost $1.1m (Shs3.05 billion).

CREDIT SOURCE: THE MONITOR