Public servants manning major entry points are under investigations over increased seizure of contraband goods in the country.
Those found culpable for the entry of the goods worth millions of shillings will be sacked and charged in courts. The employees include those from Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Revenue Authority, Anti Counterfeit Agency and police. They man airports, sea and major entry points.
Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and deputy head of public service Wanyama Musiambo said the influx of goods give an indication of laxity or complicity in their entry.
“We have workers at these entry points. They have to be accountable. They will tell us how and why they came into the country,” said Musiambo.
Boinnet said they had launched a thorough probe into the incidents with an aim of sealing the loopholes and getting those behind them.
A multi agency team led by head of Parklands DCI David Chebii is leading the operation.
They spoke at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters where they displayed 1,400 bags of contraband brown sugar that originated Brazil and 504 jerricans of cooking oil. The goods are part of those seized in the past weeks in an operation launched by a multi-agency team especially in Eastleigh.
Three suspects arrested over the seizure claimed they had paid all duty before the products were imported.
The sugar is intended for industrial purposes and had been labeled not fit for direct human consumption but was being repackaged and sold to unsuspecting buyers.
Boinnet said the product could be dangerous to human beings and urged for caution from retailers and consumers.
“When buying such goods be sure on the seller and check if they are well labeled,” he said.
The products were seized from a warehouse in Eastleigh on Monday evening.
Police have raided stores in Eastleigh in the past weeks and seized contraband goods.
Last week, a multi agency team had raided shops in Eastleigh and seized a number of contraband goods worth millions of shillings.
The team seized coated iron roofing materials, nails and stone paints after they were found to have been imported illegally.
A special multi agency team has been set up to specifically deal with the menace after it emerged the counterfeit goods were robbing Kenyans of millions of shillings and jobs.
There are claims that some staff at the government agencies are tipping off businessmen involved in the production and sale of contraband and counterfeit goods.
Earlier this month, the agencies were involved in the dumping of 400 tonnes of contraband sugar valued at Sh38 million into Indian Ocean. The sugar, which was in 16 containers, had been declared as machine parts, when it was seized in February 2016.
Several counterfeit goods have been seized in the past months in operations.
Officials from the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse, the National Environment Management Authority, the National Police Service, KRA, anti-counterfeit agency and Kebs have over the past two months been cracking down on illicit trade and contraband in a campaign against tax evasion and smuggling.
Top managers at the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) have been grilled by police three times over rise of contraband goods in the country. The file on the probe will be taken to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for direction.
Other sources said the detectives intend to talk to officials at the Kenya Revenue Authority as part of the wider probe into the issue.
