Economy
KRA seeks sniffer dogs to catch cash hidden in bags
Tuesday February 21 2023
A police officer and a sniffer dog check passenger bags. FILE PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NMG
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) will soon have sniffer dogs at border points and airports trained to detect currency in its latest fight against tax evasion and money laundering.
Through its Customs and Border Control Department, the authority said plans are at an advanced stage to start training these canines to sniff out cash in the same manner they detect drugs or arms.
This comes at a time customs officials have intercepted individuals both nationals and foreigners, with huge sums of unexplained cash that the government fears are illicit.
The law requires cash of $10,000 (Sh1.26 million) and above to be declared in what is aimed at fighting money laundering.
“We have intercepted people coming into the country with huge sums of money,” said KRA’s Commissioner for Customs and Border Control Lilian Nyawanda.
Read: KRA starts probe of Kakuzi in tax evasion allegations
“The area we have not been able to venture into is detecting currency,” said Ms Nyawanda.
Should Kenya actualise the plan, it will be able to start breeding these special sniffer dogs, joining countries such as Germany that have deployed and successfully used them to sniff out currency at one of its airports.
Ms Nyawanda said the tax authority is setting up a breeding centre in Loitoktok where sniffer dogs will be trained on how to detect currency as the government intensifies the fight against tax cheats.
KRA told Business Daily that before the end of June this year, some of its officials will fly to North Macedonia in South Eastern Europe to be trained on the breeding of such dogs.
The KRA estimates that the entire process should be over in two years.
A German customs agent said in a statement that in less than three months of service, German shepherd Luke has sniffed out a total of $847,070 (Sh105.8 million) while patrolling the Düsseldorf Airport in western Germany.
The canine was recruited in February 2018 aged two and then entered a lengthy programme that taught it to track down large sums of cash based on the scent of bills.
The dog graduated in December and made 12 successful busts before the end of February.
Four months ago, customs officials arrested six women who had concealed $857,300 in luggage containing shoes and clothes at the Customs Area at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
“As usual, the bags were scanned to establish what they contained,” said the KRA in a statement.
In February last year, a Kenyan man travelling from Burundi was arrested at the same airport with $2 million in foreign currency, which he did not declare as required by law.
In November 2021, the KRA and Posta Kenya officials said they had recovered $28,000 (Sh3.1 million) concealed in a jacket shipped into the country as a parcel from South Carolina State, USA.
Posta staff working jointly with the KRA customs officers based at City Square Post Office, Nairobi recovered the money in a suitcase containing clothes and books sent to a Nigerian national.
In December 2020, a Nigerian national Mauzu Bala, was arrested by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) with over Sh100 million — in 880,000 US dollars, 60,000 euros and 63,000 Nigerian naira — stacked in his handbag.
ARA said his failure to reveal he was carrying such a huge amount of money and produce documents supporting the legitimacy of the cash raised suspicion of money laundering.
In December last year, the High Court ordered the release of $977,075 (about Sh110 million) that had earlier been seized from a Bahraini national at JKIA, saying there was no evidence linking the cash to corruption or money laundering.
Justice Esther Maina ordered the release of the millions, saying Khalid Jameel Saeed proved that the money was not dirty.
The cash was seized from Mr Saeed on January 28, 2022, at JKIA after he failed to declare the same to customs officials.
The US government has listed Kenya as a “major money laundering jurisdiction,” because of the many domestic and foreign criminal activities.
Read: EACC wants former KRA staff to forfeit Sh278m
In 2018 ahead of the New York-Nairobi direct flights, the KRA acquired three narcotic and explosive busting sniffer dogs to beef up checks at JKIA and Moi international airports.
