Contraband goods and foreign currencies worth 127.6 million birr have been interecpted last week, according to the Ethiopian Customs Commission (ECC).
The Commission on Monday also said a total of suspected smugglers were also arrested during the operation against smuggling between July 28 and August 4, 2022.
The majority of the illegal items were captured during attempts to smuggle them into Ethiopia. The commission estimated their value at 118.5 million birr.
The remaining a little over 9 million birr worth of contraband items were intercepted from leaving the country illegally.
ECC’s branches at Akaki Kality, Moyale, and Addis Ababa Airport were able to intercept most of the contraband items seized in the past week.
The three customs branches intercepted contraband goods worth 25.2mln birr, 20.5mln birr and 15 mln birr., respectively.
Clothes, petrol, livestock, Electronics, Coffee, Medicine, vehicles, cosmetics, firearms, narcotic substances, edible oil, Khat, and various foreign currencies have dominated the list of captured illegal items.
These items were captured during collaborative operations carried out by customs officers, regional and federal police departments through searches and using tip-offs from the public .
These collaborations should continue to prevent the illegal trade that is having a negative impact on the country’s economy, the commission said.
According to the ECC, over five billion birr worth of contraband goods were captured in the 2021/22 fiscal year, which ended on July 7.
