On Friday, March 17, Ugandan Revenue Authority officials seized a Modern Coast bus transporting Ksh1.3 million (UGSX40 million) in counterfeit currency.
Customs officers stationed at the Busia border post discovered the money stacked in a suspicious package containing various Ugandan currency notes.
According to the officials, the load was declared but then manually canceled, raising suspicions.
Customs officials initially mistook it for a failure to declare possession while crossing the border. However, when they opened the package, they raised further doubts about the money’s legitimacy.
After being scanned to determine authenticity, it was later determined that the money was counterfeit.
“From face value, we were under the impression that the offense was a failure to declare cash, but while counting, the notes looked a little odd,” a Customs Officer recounted.
“This is when we sought assistance from a bank whose hi-tech machine confirmed that the money was fake,” the official added.
Consequently, the authorities arrested three suspects and seized the bus, pending further investigations.
According to the Ugandan Revenue Authority (URA), the “law on prohibited goods provides for a fine of 50 percent of the value of items and in the case of counterfeit notes, and a penalty is an imprisonment for the suspect”.
In addition, the revenue authority maintained that the Modern Coast bus was culpable for the conveyance of fake money.
The authority issued a warning, stating that it would continue to use counter-measures against economic saboteurs who cause artificial inflation in Uganda’s economy.
This was the latest in a long line of controversies surrounding the former East African long-distance travel behemoth. The company’s license has been revoked several times due to accidents involving its fleet.
