Ondjiva – The Border Police (PGF) in the province of Cunene registered a total of 5,640 attempts to evade tax on goods coming from the Republic of Namibia during last year, 2,724 more compared to 2023.
According to the PGF balance sheet report to which ANGOP had access on Wednesday, Jan 15, in addition to the tax evasion, there are also 110 violations linked to the smuggling of petroleum products, 9 cases of cigarettes smuggling and whiskey, 3 weapons trafficking attempt and drugs smuggling and one of counterfeiting of monetary values.
In total, the PGF registered 5,766 attempted border violations, an additional 1,070 compared to 2023.
The violations culminated in the arrest of 58,478 national citizens and 60 foreigners, of which 47 were Namibians, 7 from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2 Egyptians and 2 Pakistanis, the remaining 2 being from Zimbabwe and South Africa.
On the other hand, the Customs Tax Police registered 360 infractions at the border posts of Santa Clara, Calueque, Ruacaná, Omanhenene and Xangongo, aditional 99 compared to 2023.
Of the infractions carried out, 154 were for tax transgression, 155 for contraband circulation, 32 for import smuggling and 7 for export, 3 qualified smuggling, 1 fraud involving the transport of currency abroad and 8 others.
They resulted in the seizure of several goods, including N$434,675, USD6,381, 3 firearms, 3,900 hunting weapon cartridges.
On the same route, the police seized 55,003 liters of fuel, 213 vehicles, 47 motorcycles, 2 40ft containers and 8 kg of weed.
There are also a variety of goods, including construction materials, parts for motor vehicles, food and beverages, cosmetics, household appliances, mobile phones, radios, household utensils, clothing and footwear sent to the Santa Clara Customs Delegation.
The province of Cunene shares 460 border kilometers with the Republic of Namibia, of which 340 are land and 120 are river.
FI/LHE/QCB/CF/jmc
