The anti-counterfeit agency has intercepted goods worth Sh60.9 million at the Mombasa port.
The goods, some of which were mis-declared, included sugar (Sh30 million), tobacco (Sh20 million), electronic cables (Sh9 million) and shoes (Sh1.9 million).
The sugar, cables and shoes were in one container and the tobacco in two, one of which had already been destroyed by press time.
Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director Catherine Muturi (white cap) and Trade CS Aden Mohamed check counterfeit shoes seized at the Port of Mombasa, February 16, 2018. /ERNEST CORNEL
The 500 50-kg bags of sugar were on transit to Uganda.
Intelligence officers revealed the sugar was imported when demand in Kenya was high.
"The motive was possibly to divert it back to the Kenyan market after reaching Uganda," said Mombasa's chief anti-counterfeit inspector Ibrahim Bulle.
He added the sugar was 100 per cent duty free.
Bulle said the importation value was Sh40 million, Sh38.1 million less that what was to be paid.
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The tobacco was from India and the shoes
branded 'Simbaland' from China.
Trade CS Aden Mohamed said 12,000 pairs of shoes were imported and declared to cost Sh150 each.
"The market value of such shoes is between Sh10,000-15,000," he said.
Trade CS Aden Mohamed and other officials check counterfeit shoes seized at the Port of Mombasa, February 16, 2018. /ERNEST CORNEL
The most smuggled and mis-declared commodities include toners, pharmaceuticals, tobaccos, sugar and gas cylinders.
Normally, goods on transit are not inspected and as fraudsters smuggle them through channels such as the port.
Mohamed noted "crooks" are "fairly sophisticated" but added that the port remains the main entry point.
"All goods passing Kenya's territory must be inspected," he said.
"We will be opening containers on a random basis. Faster clearance may be unconvinced though it won't be permanent."
Mohamed further noted the government has lost billions of shillings in revenue because of fraud.
He proposed that affected importers be blacklisted as "our industries will never pickup because of this".
Asked if the remaining cargo will be done away with, he said:
"There is a process for doing that. One thing to do is to block entry to Kenya."