High Court orders detention of truck with contraband cigarettes
A Kakamega High Court has ordered for continued detention of a truck which had been intercepted by customs officers offloading contraband cigarettes with a tax implication of Ksh 26.25 million.
Justice Alice Bett reversed an earlier order issued by Kakamega Chief Magistrate Julius Ng’arng’ar to launch the truck which was intercepted at a residential home in Kakamega with the illicit items on October 15, final 12 months.
Investigations reveal that the truck had 350 cartons containing 5,000 sticks of Supermatch cigarettes marked “for export” hid with wheat ban.
The driver of the truck, Shadrack Kogo, failed to offer paperwork evidencing the origin of the consignment and/or fee of duties following which the truck and the consignment have been seized by KRA.
Subsequently, Kogo was charged in March with the offence of conveying uncustomed items opposite to Section 199 (b) of the East Africa Community Customs Management Act.
He denied the costs and was granted a bond of Ksh 500,000 with an order made to have the truck detained as an exhibit. However, the truck proprietor, Geoffrey Cheruiyot BorBor, utilized to have the truck launched saying he was able to avail it to courtroom when wanted.
KRA and the Office of the Director of Prosecution (ODPP) promptly moved to the excessive courtroom looking for to put aside the order because the truck was used to facilitate fee of the offence resulting in its seizure.
KRA submitted that the products, together with the truck, have been liable to forfeiture underneath the regulation and that the commissioner had statutory mandate to detain them till the willpower of the prosecution case.
The KRA additional submitted that though the truck proprietor has a proper to be presumed harmless till confirmed responsible, the state was obligated to make sure preservation and correct chain of custody of such proof. In her judgment, Justice Bett dominated that the trial courtroom erred in releasing the truck because it was an exhibit and will solely be launched upon its manufacturing.
