Ethiopia's Customs Commission seized contraband goods valued at more than 989 million birr during an operation from May 27 to June 3, 2018.
Of these, 969.4 million birr were import contraband and 20.5 million birr were export contraband, the commission stated. The goods were seized in a joint operation with federal and regional police institutions as well as members of the public.
The effort also resulted in the detention of 16 suspects and 21 vehicles involved in transporting the items. Seized goods included new and used clothes, electronics, construction materials, coffee, grains, vehicle spare parts, cosmetics, chat, drugs, medicine, minerals, live animals and foreign currencies.
The commission called on all stakeholders and the public to play their part in preventing the impact of contraband on the national economy.
