The Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) today destroyed about 300 smuggled bricks of cigarettes worth over K1 billion at the Livingstone City Council’s dump site.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS, Zambia Revenue Authority Corporate Communications Manager, Mumbuna Kufekisa, said the move was taken in accordance with the Food and Drugs Act Chapter 295 of the Laws of Zambia as well as the Public Health Act.
Mr Kefekisa said the cigarettes were smuggled into the country between November 2013 and July 2014.
“The cigarettes were being smuggled into the country on bicycles which often carry groceries and fruits being imported in petty consignments from neighbouring Zimbabwe,” he said.
He said the destroyed cigarettes included brands such as Gold Remington, Pacific Blue Seville’s, Kingsgate, Everest and Kingdom, adding that they did not have cigarette stamps from the Zambia Revenue Authority as required by law.
Mr Kufekisa explained that the smuggling of goods had a negative effect on the economy as it resulted in huge revenue losses for the government.
“Smuggling distorts market prices which in turn affects the manufacturing industries. The end result is unfair competition on trading grounds and also distortion of the economy”, he said.
He further added that that registered companies dealing in tobacco were at risk of closing down and the closure of such companies would mean loss of employment for many people in the country.
Mr Kufekisa said ZRA would tighten measures and ensure people who brought goods in the country followed the right procedures and paid the right amount of tax.
He has since warned smugglers not to expect sympathy but face the full wrath of the law once caught.
They were promised jobs and more money in their pockets…. since that promise hasn’t been fulfilled people resorted to smuggling of cigarettes.
Cigarettes are not good, look now Zambians are suffering without a president because the man smoked too much of it. Ba Sata liked Guards & Peter Stuyvesant combination.
Fifwaka panse, twalileka kufibova
If it were drugs I would congratulate burning them. These are legal products, so granted, the smugglers need to be prosecuted and the contraband confiscated, but the government or whoever in authority can auction these things and get some “petty cash”. Burning them is totally irrelevant and a waste.
Most expensive cigarettes in the world unless it is a printing error. There is no way 300 bricks of cigarettes smuggled on bicycles could worth ZMK1 Billon! This is equivalent to US$163,153 (based of US Billion version of nine zeros) or an equivalent of US$ 163,153,000 ( based on British Billion with nine zeros). Based on the above figures, you would need more than 300 bricks of cigarettes. 300 bricks is an equivalent of 60 000 cigarette sticks( 300 bricks x 10 packets of 20 cigarettes in each brick x 20 cigarettes per packet). Works out to be either US$3 per stick or US$3000 per stick depending on whether it is a US version of a Billion or British version of a Billion. If anything, you could fill warehouses with containers of cigarettes to achieve that figure. Unless it old Kwacha!