Security agencies in Nakuru and Meru have netted more than 400,000 bags of suspected contraband sugar in the ongoing crackdown on counterfeit goods.
In Nakuru,
Police Commandant Hassan Barua said samples of the sugar have been taken to the government laboratory to know if its fit for human consumption.
“The government will intensity raids to crack down on illicit traders and their counterfeit goods. We do not want to risk lives of consumers in the county,” Barua said.
Meru County commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga and police commander David Kirui confiscated thousands of bags at a warehouse in the town on Monday.
It is believed that the sugar is distributed
to business people in Meru,Tharaka Nithi, Isiolo and Nanyuki counties.
Many of the sugar sacks are labelled Brazil.
The first consignment nabbed in Eastleigh was found with mercury and copper traces, according to findings from the Government Chemist.
The consignment had 1,474 bags (50Kgs) of sugar, clearly labelled as not being suitable for direct human consumption.
On Tuesday, detectives seized more than 1000 bags of sugar and a mass scale packaging machine worth Sh25 million at a warehouse in Ruiru, Kiambu County.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi recently declared a vicious war on contraband goods in the country.
“I am not under any illusion that we are engaged in a very serious war. A war that could mean anything; it could mean even the lives of these officers and some of us,” Matiangi said last week during the crackdown.
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