Voi police free Kebs officer seized in bad sugar probe
Bags of contraband sugar confiscated by police are offloaded at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters in Kiambu on June 13, 2018. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Sources within the police told the Nation that the Kebs official was released on a free police bond after questioning.
- The official was arrested after he went to take samples of seized sugar at a warehouse in Voi town.
A Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) inspection officer in Taita Taveta County has been released after spending the weekend in Voi Police Station.
The officer, Jacob Osuri, was arrested over allegations of derailing the fight against contraband sugar in the county.
Sources within the police told the Nation that the Kebs official was released on a free police bond after questioning.
The official was arrested after he went to take samples of seized sugar at a warehouse in Voi town without involving other government agencies.
The exercise which is being undertaken publicly in other parts of the country is, however, being done in secrecy by the officers in the county.
JOINT PROBE
Taita Taveta County police commander, Ms Halima Abdi, who confirmed the arrest said the Kebs official breached an agreement reached by state agencies to work together in the crackdown on sugar contraband.
She said they have contacted his bosses for disciplinary action to be taken.
“His character is in question because we don’t know why he went alone to the warehouse,” she said.
On Sunday, the police commander had said they had sealed a container with suspected contraband sugar in Voi town.
VERIFICATION TEAM
Ms Abdi said the multi-agency operation was to be conducted on Monday to establish whether the sugar is safe for human consumption.
The police boss had said that they were waiting for a verification team that includes Kenya Revenue Authority, Kebs, and Anti-Counterfeit Agency to arrive from Mombasa for the verification exercise.
However, Ms Abdi said, the team had not yet arrived by Monday.
“We will not conduct the exercise today. We will do so when the officers arrive,” she said.
A businessman in Voi who declined to be named for fear of victimisation said the agencies were using the crackdown to get back to businesses people in the area.
He said his company had presented valid permits to the agencies but they were still frustrating him.
“Why aren’t they arresting me if they feel I have broken the law. Why am I free if I am a criminal? Let them arrest me,” he said.
