Grand Northern Regions: Customs Impound 2000 Fraudulently Imported Mobile Phones

 By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

At least 2000 mobile phones fraudulently imported into the country have been confiscated by a special unit of customs officials operating across the three northern regions.
    

DG of Customs, Edwin Fongod

The items were impounded by customs officials in Adamawa region under the special customs unit set to fight illicit in the three Northern regions, dubbed HALCOMI. The operation was instituted by the Director General of Customs, Edwin Fongod, following the alarming rate of illicit trade in the three regions.
    According to Jude Mofor, Commander of the operation whose aim is to put a halt to illicit trade in the Northern regions, the phones were discovered by his elements during routine checks undertaken in the town of Ngaoundere.
    “Every day our elements are being deployed in the field to search. We control everything that is entering the country and everything that is going out. It I a routine control that enable us see the telephones entering the country illegally,” Mofor said. He revealed that they have drafted two strategies to handle the confiscated devices. 
    “If it is something that is accepted to enter the country, we are going to calculate the taxes and fix penalties. For instance, if there were supposed to pay FCFA 100 000, they will pay 200 000 and if they were supposed to pay FCFA 1 million they will pay two, Mofor said.
    He added that if the devices will be destroyed it is discovered that they are not authorised to enter the country. He used the opportunity to call on all business operators to ensure to follow the legal procedures before importing their goods into the country.