Police seize Sh7 million illegal ethanol at Taveta border post
Taveta-Holili One-Stop Border Post where a truck containing 30,000 liters of illegal ethanol is being detained. Police have launched a manhunt for the driver and owner of the contraband consignment which was seized at Mwakitau area along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway
Kenyan security agencies have seized a consignment of 30,000 litres of ethanol at Mwaktau area in Taita Taveta County.
The illicit consignment, which is believed to have been imported from neighbouring Tanzania and estimated to have a tax value of over Sh7 million was intercepted along the Voi-Taveta highway.
Confirming the incident, Taveta sub-county police commander Charles Barasa said the consignment was concealed with 29 bags of maize and 31 bags of rice husks each weighing 90 kilogrammes.
The smugglers had packed the illegal chemical in 120 blue plastic drums of 250 litres.
Detectives have launched a manhunt for the truck driver who escaped during the operation.
Mr Barasa said detectives will arrest the truck owner as investigations continue to identify beneficial owners and smugglers of the contraband consignment.
Police believe that the consignment belongs to a notorious suspect who they have been trailing for the last month.
"We believe that the substance was destined to Nairobi or Mombasa. We will know the truth once we get the culprits," he said.
He said the truck has been detained at the One-Stop Border Post in Taveta to allow a multi-agency investigation by detectives from both Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and police to continue.
Mr Barasa said security agencies in Taveta have beefed patrols along the porous Taveta-Holili border to stop the illegal importation of goods.
"The smugglers take advantage of the porous border to escape arrest at the One-Stop Border Post," he said.
