An Egyptian passenger's attempt to smuggle 100 phones, 180 electronic cigarettes, and their accessories was thwarted by customs officials at Cairo International Airport, according to a story published on Sunday by the Ahram Arabic news website.
After the passenger's luggage was manually and X-rayedly scrutinised, the contraband was found.
El-Shahat Ghatori, the head of the Egyptian Customs Authority, stated last week that during the first two months of 2023, Egypt deterred 4,300 smuggling efforts worth EGP 3.6 million at customs ports.
Due to different taxes and fees levied on mobile phones in Egypt, their local prices have increased noticeably—by around 34%.
These include a 5% development fee, 5% National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) fee, a 14% value-added tax (VAT), and a 10% customs duty.
This is in addition to the impact of the Egyptian pound's plummeting value, which has lost almost 100% of its value since March 2022 when compared to the US dollar, which is presently trading at EGP 30.9.
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