A master plan by a driver to cross the border from Tanzania to Kenya with contraband ethanol almost came to fruition before it was intercepted by officers in Loitokitok, Kajiado County on Tuesday, January 10.
Acting on a tip-off from the public, the officers intercepted the trucks bearing fake number plates; one truck had Tanzanian plates atop the original plate while the second truck had fake Kenyan plates.
Reports indicated that the drivers switched the number plates to hoodwink the officers at various police checks.
However, the officers, in conjunction with a multi-agency security team, conducted a sting operation and nabbed the driver and his team.
The police managed to capture the truck driver but the passengers of the other truck escaped.
According to reports, the government would have lost an estimated Ksh35 million in revenue if the drivers evaded the officers who mounted a barrier at Loitoktok.
Patrick Omondi, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) manager in Loitokitok, affirmed that the two trucks contained 288 drums and over 250 litres altogether.
"We have been able to intercept 288 drums with one truck having 132 and the other 156. They consist of 250 litres of contraband," Omondi told the press.
According to the KRA manager, the driver will be grilled over the contraband goods as well as the whereabouts of his accomplices.
"We will take his statement and put him to task to explain to us the business that they conduct and where his accomplices are," he added.
The government recently conducted a crackdown following a spike in the number of vehicles operating using fake or fabricated number plates.
An official from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) warned motorists to desist from using fake registration numbers while on the road.
"Some have fake number plates, which are those made by local scrap metal dealers, following the due process of registration.
"Alternatively, they get number plates from vehicles which have been written off and use them," the NTSA official intimated to the press.
