A Ugandan woman was arrested at Entebbe International Airport after attempting to smuggle 76 smartphones.
The woman, who has not been publicly identified, arrived at the airport disguised as heavily pregnant.
Customs officers searched her, only to discover that her “baby bump” concealed 76 smartphones.
Another smuggler feigned a severe case of elephantiasis, strapping multiple phones to her legs with airline baggage tags.
Similarly, a smuggler abandoned her loot in a dustbin, hoping to retrieve it later, but authorities had already caught on.
During the operation, officers impounded 807 smuggled smartphones worth an estimated $42,626 (about Shs157 million).
Sylvester Kiwanuka, Manager of Entebbe Customs, thanked the team for a job well done and called for more diligence in the fight against economic saboteurs.
Customs enforcement officials reported an increase in the use of ‘sharias’ and tunics to hide contraband, as well as phones being stuffed into factory-sealed household items like vacuum cleaners and brand-new tablets.
“Smugglers keep getting creative, but so do we,” added Kiwanuka. “Our vigilance ensures that such illegal activities do not go unchecked.”
