Liberia: LRA Hands Over Smuggled Cigarettes To S/Leone Customs

Monrovia – The Anti-Smuggling Unit (ASIU) of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) has handed over 70 cartons of smuggled cigarettes to its Sierra Leonean counterpart.

LRA Anti-Smuggling Supervisor Abel Sneh said Liberian immigration officers seized the Ronson Cigarette, only to be sold in Sierra Leone, while patrolling the banks of the Mano River in Grand Cape Mount County.

The cartons of cigarettes were turned over at the Jendema Collectorate in Sierra Leone on Friday (Sept 30).

Sneh said smuggling the product to Liberia violates the country’s Revenue Code and international statutes like the Customs to Customs Cooperation under the Nairobi Convention. 

He stressed the need for more vital border collaboration between the two countries’ customs authorities in other to minimize smuggling.

This is the fourth time the LRA has seized and turned over illegal goods to its Sierra Leonean counterpart.

Meanwhile, the Jendema Customs Collectorate supervisor, James Inah, thanked the Joint Security for the level of collaboration in handling both border posts.

He said the items received from the LRA would duly be communicated to the appropriate authority, and proper measures would be taken to address smuggling. 

Ineh thanked the LRA for the smooth collaboration as both countries work to protect citizens within their respective borders while collecting revenues for national growth and development.