Uganda Revenue Authority officers during an operation along Mukono-Kayunga road arrested a man dressed in UPDF fatigue who was driving a truck number UAE 050F, carrying over 200 smuggled cartons of high-value pens from outside the country.
Nkwasire Julius, the URA Assistant Commissioner in charge of Enforcement said that Davis Byaruhanga was dressed in military clothes, and when he was stopped as he was driving a truck, he flashed out a military identification card to the officers.
The URA officers verified the identity card authenticity with their colleagues in the army and later found out that the document was fake, Nkwasibwe noted.
“We asked him out of the vehicle only to discover he is not anybody related to UPDF. He had different versions of the story. Smuggling has evolved from outright smuggling to doing it using fake documents, relationships and systems to reduce on tax obligations,” Nkwasire said.
Also arrested was Emmanuel Kwesiga.
The UPDF spokesperson, Brig Flavia Byekwaso said the army will do all it takes to deal with such people who tarnish its name among the public.
“On many occasions, you hear people in uniform doing certain things, and often times the army as an institution is blamed yet there are people like him who get hands-on our uniform and commit such atrocities. We can’t allow it to continue,” Byekwaso said.
“This is a warning to all those involved in misusing the UPDF uniform. We shall stand to deal with the culprits regardless of who is involved.”