Police seize 300kg uninspected meat at Nyeri house

Police confiscate a freezer containing uninspected meat following a raid at a residential house in Asian Quarters estate, Nyeri Town, on July 15, 2019. PHOTO | NICHOLAS KOMU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The meat, valued at about Sh180,000, was found stuffed in dirty freezers hidden in the bedroom of the house adjacent to the Nyeri dumpsite.
  • Police conducted the raid after residents alerted public health officers who had been monitoring the home following a similar case in April.
  • Nyeri County Police Commander Adiel Nyange said police were searching for the owner of the house, one Mr John Ndegwa.
  • Police said they will ask the court to either deny Mr Ndegwa bond or impose strict release terms considering he repeated the offence.

Police on Monday confiscated about 300 kilograms of uninspected meat at a residential house in Nyeri Town’s Asian Quarters estate.

The meat, valued at about Sh180,000, was found stuffed in dirty freezers hidden in the bedroom of the house adjacent to the Nyeri dumpsite.

Police conducted the raid after residents alerted public health officers who had been monitoring the home following a similar case in April.

SUSPECT

Nyeri County Police Commander Adiel Nyange said police were searching for the owner of the house, one Mr John Ndegwa.

This is the second time they are searching for Mr Ndegwa over the same offence - they arrested him in April for having uninspected meat at the same house.

The freezer that was impounded at that time, for use as an exhibit, is the same one police found in the fresh raid. It still had the exhibit numbers.

“He was arrested and charged barely two months ago with a similar offence. He was out on bond but decided to go back to the same illegal business,” Mr Nyange said.

He said police were questioning the suspect's wife.

STOLEN LIVESTOCK

Mr Ndegwa's first case will be mentioned later in July.

He was arrested for operating the business without proper documentation, selling uninspected meat and storing the product under unhygienic conditions.

Detectives suspect the meat is of stolen livestock.

They said they will ask the court to either deny Mr Ndegwa bond or impose strict release terms considering he repeated the offence.

“We will ask the court to be a bit stricter this time round because whenever he is released he goes back to the same illegal business,” Mr Nyange said.