It was a mix of fortune and fate for police officers and suspected counterfeiters who, on Monday, May 15, coincidentally crossed paths after an accident.
A hapless accident exposed the lorry driver after he lost control and veered off the road into a maize plantation in Nakuru County.
As fate may have had it, police offers soon got wind of the incident, leaving the occupants more frantic and worried about the counterfeit ethanol they were ferrying.
"I received phone calls from members of the public informing me that a lorry had crashed. I then sent police officers to the scene of the accident to try and rescue the victims," Nakuru East Sub County Police Commander Martin Masika stated.
At the accident scene, the maize plantation offered a temporary canopy covering the multi-million illegal trade to be hidden before police officers arrived.
The situation worsened when the lorry burst into flames barely minutes after crashing into the maize plantation, and they were also forced to abort the mission as the police acted swiftly to thwart their rescue efforts.
"When we arrived at the scene, we found the lorry burning and called the fire brigade to attend to it. It took them a few minutes to put out the fire.
"We then found huge containers having ethanol in them. We soon established that the ethanol was an illegal counterfeit the occupants were trading.
Police officers called for reinforcement from other agencies to help them investigate the value and origin of the ethanol seemingly destined for the local markets.
"Officers from the Revenue Authority told us that the ethanol was valued at around Ksh3.9 million minus tax that should be going to the government," Masika stated.
The suspects will be arraigned and charged with violating the Anti-Counterfeit Act 2008, which prohibits manufacturing, importing, exporting, distributing, selling, or possessing counterfeit goods.
Anti-Counterfeit Act, 2008 established the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) as the lead government agency responsible for enforcing the Law, and gave the authority to search and seize suspected counterfeit goods, issue notices to suspected counterfeiters and prosecute counterfeiting offences in court.
The Act defines counterfeit goods as any goods that bear a false or misleading indication of origin, or that are otherwise made, produced, or distributed in violation of any intellectual property right.
Suspects charged under this Act risk imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 years, a fine not exceeding Ksh10 million and forfeiture of counterfeit goods.
