Shake up at Customs as Mike Conteh, 4 Others sent off
A serious shake up in the National Revenue Authority is underway with five senior officials including Mr. Mike Conteh, head of the Preventive Service and Security Division (PSSD) as one those already ordered to be sent off. (Photo: Haja Kallah, Acting Commissioner-General, NRA)
The five men, it is said, have been ordered off for a leave that was never taken, but it is believed the five may not be seen in the NRA anymore.
Although already NRA officials are keeping tight lips over the matter, it is highly believed that more heads will roll in what is been described as a mass sacking.
The order for the five men to proceed on a never-to-return leave has already created a situation akin to a panic in the NRA headquarters, with many fearing for their jobs, and others are said to be anxious over fear of imprisonment.
Since President Ernest Bai Koroma’s announcement a month ago about containers being brought into the country without proper documentation, life is said to have never been normal for the workers of the NRA who have been the main target of investigations.
While investigations into the matter had been going on, only Lebanese nationals had been found guilty. The decision of the government in sending Mr. Mike Conteh and other senior NRA officials on leave has been seen as an indication of their guilt in the matter.
Sources have further revealed that the Preventive Service and Security Division, which was formerly headed by Mr. Mike Conteh, has a lot of responsibilities in terms of allowing containers to be improperly labeled, under invoiced, and the false declaration of goods.
As the PSSD is the one tasked with the inspection of all cargo coming in and out of the country, ensuring that all cargo is thoroughly screened and the required customs duties paid, it stands to reason that the division would come under scrutiny and intense investigations.
“The sending the five NRA officials on a leave might not be unconnected with the recent container bust at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay,†the source remarked.
Meanwhile investigations continue into further allegations of corruption and preferential treatment accorded to some importers, while others are being ostracized.
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