Officials arrest seven arrested over fuel adulteration
Officials from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority inspect an oil tanker at a yard in Industrial Area on April 29, 2019 where seven people who were found adulterating fuel were arrested. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Seven people were Monday arrested in a swoop by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) over fuel adulteration.
The suspects were arrested at an illegal site on Lunga Lunga Road in Industrial Area, Nairobi where the energy regulatory agency discovered over 6,500 litres of petroleum products.
ERPA Director General Pavel Oimeke said that the first five people were arrested on Friday while the other two were apprehended on Sunday for trying to come back to steal the nabbed fuel in the presence of police officers who were guarding the site.
He said his team working together with police found 5,250 litres of diesel, 500 litres of petrol, 400 litres of engine oil and 900 litres of kerosene and a motor vehicle tanker that has a capacity of about 1,000 litres that was being used in the illegal activity of adulteration at the place.
“This site was exposed by Kenya Power team which was checking for illegal power connections in the area before they came across this den where unscrupulous business people have been mixing petroleum products to make a product that is not even known to us,” said Mr Oimeke on Monday.
He said that the seven have been taken to Muthaiga and Industrial Area police stations and will be arraigned for engaging in an illegal activity.
He said that Industrial Area is notorious for such activities which has seen over 20 sites closed down by the authority this year alone.
“As an authority we are alarmed by this. We need information to be able to close these illegal dens as they are a danger to human lives in case of an explosion and even to vehicles that use that as fuel,” he said.
Mr Oimeke said that they are now working closely with the police and the DCI to see that the individuals arrested in connection with fuel adulteration are charged before a court of law.
“It is not going to be business as usual for these unscrupulous business people who want to make money through illegal activities,” he said.
However, he said that loss due to fuel adulteration has reduced by 60 percent saving the country around Sh10 billion every year.
He said that since last year May we have dealt with most of these dens closing over 100 in Kisumu, Mombasa, Nairobi and Kitale.
