Customs Police Seize Illegal Goods worth 82.7mln Birr
ADDIS ABABA – Contraband goods worth more than 82.7 million birr have been seized at Customs branches across Ethiopia in a week, authorities said on Saturday.
The majority of the items were seized during attempts to smuggle them into the country, according to the Ethiopian Customs Commission (ECC) weekly report.
The commission estimated their value at 76.53 million birr.
Customs officials also prevented close to 6.2 million birr worth of items from leaving the country illegally.
ECC’s branches at Moyale, Dire Dawa and Jigjiga were able to seize the most.
The three, respectively, prevented contraband trades worth 22.6mln birr, 21.9mln birr and 8.2mln birr, Customs officials said.
Clothes, Electronics, petrol, Coffee, Medicine, narcotic drugs, cars, construction materials, weapons, khat, and foreign currencies were among the goods seized during a week-long operation.
The collaborative effort among customs officers, regional and federal police with the support of the public has played a key role in the fight against illegal trade during the week, ECC’s officials said.