Kenya Revenue Authority officials on Monday confiscated ethanol worth Sh1 million that was being transported into the country.
The ethanol was seized by the KRA officers in collaboration with officials from other agencies.
It is suspected that it was an attempt by unscrupulous traders to use the busy holiday period to smuggle the product into Kenya.
The team comprised officers from KRA, Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA), Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) as well as the police.
The officers were acting on intelligence and intercepted the ethanol consignment being smuggled through East and Central Africa’s busiest border points.
The consignment was being smuggled in a truck which is suspected to have originated from Uganda.
Inspection of the truck by the multiagency team revealed 24 blue plastic drums of 250 litres each labeled Ethyl Alcohol 96 percent concealed under 53 bags of dry rice each weighing approximately 90 kilograms, and 54 bags of maize weighing about 90 kilograms each.
The driver of the truck, who is still at large, fled and abandoned the vehicle.
In 2015, KRA through a public notice introduced procedures to govern access, purchase and importation of ethanol pursuant to the Government’s initiative to combat illicit production and consumption of spirit based beverages.
The procedures provide requirements based on provisions of Excise Duty Regulation, 2019.
The move is aimed at controlling access to ethanol, protecting the public health and preventing revenue loss.
“The multi-agency team is committed to fighting illicit trade and contraband goods,” a press statement issued by KRA Commissioner, Customs and Border Control Kevin Safari said.
“The team urges members of the public to support its operations by providing crucial information that can help the team bring the perpetrators to book.”
