Police in Nyarugenge District at the weekend intercepted a vehicle loaded with more than 10,400 cartons of banned plastic bags and 20 rolls of substandard electrical cables said to have been sneaked into the country through a porous border point in Bugesera District.

The plastic bags and the cables were seized after the vehicle, an omnibus, got involved in an accident in Gitega Sector.

Two people, including the driver of the vehicle, were arrested in connection with the act.

The driver, however, argued that he was hired to transport the illegal shipment to Kigali and that he was told it was bundles of clothes concealed in sucks.

Supt. Modeste Mbabazi, the Central Region Police spokesperson, warned the business community against the use of polythene bags to pack goods for their customers and selling unauthorised electrical equipment.

"At this point, everyone knows that plastic bags are illegal in Rwanda because of their ill-effects on the environment, and punishable by law and the same goes to such electrical gadgets that can cause fire outbreaks when used,” Mbabazi said.

"We appeal to all Rwandans to fight these unlawful businesses because it is in the interest of them all.” he added.

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