Police in Huye District have arrested a local businessman for allegedly buying and selling UNHCR products that are meant not to be sold, and attempting to offer bribes at the time of his arrest.

UNHCR is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Alex Mubirigi was arrested on May 22, by the Revenue Protection Department (RPD), a Rwanda National Police unit attached to Rwanda Revenue Authority to fight fraud and smuggling, as he was found repackaging the UNHCR labeled goods that included maize flour and Sosoma.

Sosoma is composite flour made out of mixed maize grains, soya beans and sorghum.

According to Chief Superintendent Sam Bugingo, the commanding officer of RPD, when Police officers, on their routine operations, found Mubirigi repackaging the UNHCR-labeled foodstuff, he attempted to offer them a bribe of Rwf200, 000.

"Our Officers conduct routine inspections to verify the authenticity of products on the market and whether they paid taxes, it is in this context that they found Mubirigi empting UNHCR labeled sacks of SOSOMA and maize flour, and repackaging the goods in other sacks to cover up his unlawful business and, in the due course, he attempted to bribe the officers when they asked him to produce supporting papers, so as to let him continue with his illegal business, and he was arrested immediately,” said CSP Bugingo.

At the time of his arrest, the suspect was repackaging about 3650 kilogrammes of SOSOMA and 1,700 kilogrammes of maize flour.

Although police is still investigating the exact source of the flour, the suspect admitted he "illegally acquired the products that aren’t for sale.”

"There are two things to consider; first, selling goods that are not supposed to be sold on the market, and secondly, bribery, which is a serious crime in and cannot be tolerated,” CSP Bugingo said.

Bribery attracts a jail sentence of up to seven years and a fine of up to 10 times the amount of money that was offered in bribes.

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