A daring cross-border con has been blown wide open after the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) arrested two men accused of orchestrating an elaborate Super Match cigarette export scam that fleeced a Congolese businessman of more than USD 24,000.
Frank Mugisha and George Muhumuza are now facing charges of obtaining money by false pretense, forging customs documents, and declaring non-existent goods in what investigators describe as a “carefully choreographed fraud operation.”
According to URA intelligence, the scam began when Congolese trader Masereka Musavuli was offered a lucrative deal: 15,000 cartons of Super Match cigarettes, supposedly impounded at the URA Headquarters in Nakawa.
Mugisha allegedly claimed the cigarettes had been intercepted en route from Kenya. Muhumuza posed as the lawful owner of the seized cargo.
To sell the illusion, the suspects escorted Masereka to a customs warehouse where sacks were shown to him from outside, matching photos they’d previously sent via WhatsApp. Entry, they insisted, would only be granted once the paperwork was complete.
The Paper Trail Trap
Investigators say the scammers issued Masereka an expired Payment Reference Number and later generated a fresh assessment for Shs36.88 million, which he paid through DT Bank on May 6, 2025.
Masereka was then told to purchase packing materials for a planned export to the Democratic Republic of Congo via Busunga.
When the time came to load the supposed cigarettes, the truck he hired was weighed, impounded, then inexplicably held for three weeks. The promised cargo never materialized.
On top of the UGX 36.88 million, Masereka alleges Mugisha extracted an additional USD 15,000 in “facilitation fees.”
Realizing he had been duped, he filed a complaint, sparking the investigation under case file GEF 145/2025.
URA investigators later confirmed the alarming truth: no such cigarettes ever existed in the warehouse. The export entry was nothing more than a smokescreen designed to mislead the victim and justify the fraudulent payments.
Acting Manager of Intelligence Alfred Kyamanywa cautioned the public against falling for similar schemes.
“Contraband cigarettes seized in enforcement operations are disposed of strictly by law. They are never sold at URA Nakawa HQ,” Kyamanywa emphasized.
Commissioner General John R. Musinguzi condemned the fraud and urged the public to be vigilant.
“Be wary of anyone claiming URA is selling cigarettes or other goods. Report them immediately. Protect your hard-earned money,” he warned.
Musinguzi added that the arrests should serve as a deterrent to fraudsters and a reassurance that URA is committed to protecting legitimate businesspeople.
