Sex toys, guns among items intercepted at JKIA in four months
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) customs department at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has in the last four months confiscated large consignments of restricted items.
According to tax collector, in the period between July and October 2023, the authority intercepted 132 prohibited items and 431 restricted items in a total of 440 interceptions.
The restricted items include 14 sex toys, 58 shisha & shisha apparatus, 24 Viagra packs, and 60 bleaching creams.
Others were 339 drones, 7 guns, 18 toy guns, 11 magazines, 8 handcuffs, and 24 Walkie talkies were also among the prohibited items intercepted.
The items are said to have been found after passengers underwent the KRA passenger inspection stations.
The list of items held at Kenya’s biggest airport shares a glimpse of how the intimate lives of Kenyans, most of whom are youth, have transformed.
It is unclear why some of the items shouldn’t be allowed into the country and it’s even more confusing about the kind of documentation needed to clear them.
There has been a greater demand for both male and female sex points, with several social media pages openly selling them.
Commissioner General KRA, Humphrey Wattanga, said that it is important to note that all goods intercepted at the Point of Entry, particularly firearms and drones, must have required permits issued by relevant state departments.
“We have a mandate to safeguard legitimate trade by ensuring that items subject to Customs duty are accurately assessed and duly paid for,” he said.
For instance, the KRA requires those importing drones to produce a raft of certificates, including one on airworthiness. It is unclear what kind of proof one would adduce to show they can use a dildo effectively.
A quick search on social media revealed such gadgets are locally available, so perhaps it could be that it is not their use that’s restricted, but distribution. Still, it’s the motivation for such restrictions that still befuddle.
KRA said persons visiting the country can reclaim restricted items seized by its agents while departing from the Customs Office.
The terminal visit was planned amid increased interceptions of prohibited and restricted goods by the KRA’s Border Control Enforcement Unit.
This means that most visitors to the country, or Kenyans who have travelled abroad and are returning, are unaware of the strict licensing requirements for some items entering the market.
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