Nyeri police have impounded fertiliser worth Sh2 million believed to have been stolen and arrested two suspects.
The suspects were caught in a house in Narumoru in Kieni East on Friday. Police recovered 560 50kg bags of DAP fertiliser.
Police said they suspected a racket where goods are smuggled from Mombasa and find their way to Nyeri and other counties where they are sold.
Central regional commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga said the fertiliser was stolen from a trailer on transit from Mombasa to Busia on Saturday, May 18.
The trailer left Mombasa for Busia with the goods but the fertiliser was diverted along the way.
“It left Mombasa on Friday last week and passed through Mlolongo to Kikuyu before diverting to Juja and ended up in Nyeri,” he said.
The rest of the fertiliser is believed to have been ferried to Timau in Meru.
Nyagwanga said police launched investigations after the lorry was reported missing.
The driver of the lorry was arrested and led them to Narumoru where they found the fertiliser, he said.
“We suspected that brokers colluded with some other people and ferried the fertiliser to this area where they sold it,” he said.
Police, he added, used the lorry owner to track its driver who was arrested and gave information to the police that led to the recovery of the fertiliser and the arrest of the suspects.
Police also recovered seeds believed to be fake that have been finding their way into the market where they are sold to unsuspecting customers.
He said the cartels could be selling uncertified seeds to farmers. Some of the seeds had logo of the defunct Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari).
