The government has warned rogue businessmen still involved in the smuggling of contraband goods from neighbouring countries that action will be taken against them.
This comes after goods including milk powder were destroyed on Saturday.
The milk powder recovered included nine boxes each containing six tins of 6.5 kgs and some 10 cartons of 200 sachets each weighing 50gms all valued at Sh156,000.
They were being transported to Nairobi.
Garissa county commissioner Boaz Cherutich said the border remained closed.
The consignment is suspected to have been imported from neighbouring war-torn Somalia.
Cherutich said stern action will be taken against anyone found smuggling contraband goods into the country saying they were creating unnecessary competition in the market.
“We caution the few individuals who are still involved in this illegal business. We are not going to tolerate this. Some of these products are not even fit for human consumption,” he said.
“We are destroying them to send a message to all those dealing with illegal goods that their days are numbered.”
Commending the security officers for a job well done, the county commissioner said the government will not relent in its effort to ensure that contraband goods do not gain access to the Kenyan market.
“I encourage our security officers to continue working as a multi-agency team to ensure that contraband or unaccustomed goods are seized,” he said.
Cherutich was accompanied by the county security team, officials from the Kenya Bureau of Standard, KRA and customs and other state agencies.
He said all state agencies will work closely to ensure substandard products that are potentially harmful to Kenyans don’t find their way into the country.
“We want to protect legitimate businesses that pay taxes from unfair market competition,” he said.
Early this year, during a visit to Garissa, Interior CS Fred Matiang’i instructed security agents in the Northeastern region to deal ruthlessly with contraband trade.
Matiang’i said that contraband trade is not only hurting business in Kenya but a direct revenue to Somali based al Shabaab terror group.
“We are going to start an unprecedented crackdown on contraband trade that is thriving in this part of the country because it is direct revenue to al Shabaab,” he said then.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
