KRA destroys Sh15 million illicit alcohol in Kisumu

Kenya Revenue Authority destroyed illicit brew with an estimated value of Sh15 million in Kisumu County on May 15, 2018. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Western region KRA deputy commissioner Kevin Safari said 9,300 litres of spirits which lacked requisite stamps from the tax collector and the Kenya Bureau of Standards was destroyed.

  • To curb the vice, Mr Safari said they have intensified patrols and deployed sniffer dogs and surveillance cameras at the border points of Busia and Malaba.

  • The government was going to lose up to Sh5 million in tax had the counterfeit alcohol successfully penetrated the market.

The Kenya Revenue Authority on Tuesday destroyed illicit brew with an estimated value of Sh15 million impounded in Kisumu County.

This comes as KRA regional commissioner raised alarm over an upsurge of condemned alcohol being smuggled into Kenya through non-gazetted routes along the Kenya-Uganda and the Kenya-Tanzania borders.

Western region KRA deputy commissioner Kevin Safari said 9,300 litres of spirits which lacked requisite stamps from the tax collector and the Kenya Bureau of Standards was destroyed.

SNIFFER DOGS

“The government was going to lose up to Sh5 million in tax had the counterfeit alcohol successfully penetrated the market,” he said during the destruction exercise at Nyalenda.

To curb the vice, Mr Safari said they have intensified patrols and deployed sniffer dogs and surveillance cameras at the border points of Busia and Malaba.

He said the drinks were netted from markets, bars, wines and spirits shops and other alcoholic outlets in the lakeside city.

“We are aware that most of the unscrupulous businessmen use Toyota Probox and Toyota Wish vehicles to transport the goods into the Kenyan market at night,” he told the press.

He said KRA will adopt a multi-agency approach and intensify patrols to ensure that innocent Kenyans are not duped by the illegal traders.

UNLICENSED

Mr Safari added that KRA has arrested some people involved in the business and taken them to court.

Kisumu East deputy county commissioner Josephine Ouko called on members of the public to be on the lookout and alert security personnel about any suspicious activities.

She said county security officers are going to close down all the unlicensed outlets.

Kisumu police commander John Kamau said they are not going to relent in the war against illicit alcohol.

“We will work around the clock. No one will be spared in the fight aimed at ensuring the safety of all Kenyans and stopping non-payment of government revenues,” he said.