MRA Commissioner General Tom Malata has announced that  the authority is amidst deploying Flexible and Anti-Smuggling Teams (Fast) that patrol day and night. The development follows increasing cases of smuggled commodities/items into the country, which inhibits revenue collections.

In June, MRA engaged in a campaign against sugar smuggling, for key business and trading centres along the border with Mozambique and Zambia. Not long after that, Chibuku Products Limited Malawi (CPL) has seized over 200 cases of Chibuku Super beer in Lilongwe, following a two-day search in Lilongwe and Mchinji districts on July 16 and 17 respectively.

With the above cases among many others, Malata admitted that  borders are porous and MRA cannot tackle the problem alone, calling upon stakeholders to come up with concrete ideas to eliminate smuggling.

Amidst the stakeholders, in attendance of the meeting were chief executives from Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Limited, Chibuku Products Limited, Bakhresa, Castel Malawi Limited, Mapeta DWS, and MRA senior officials.