Police officers from Kakamega Police Station on Tuesday arrested a middle-aged man caught ferrying uncustomed goods worth millions into the country from Uganda.
Uncustomed goods are trade items whose duty has not been paid, contrary to the Customs Law. The goods can either be imported, exported or transferred.
According to a police report obtained by Kenyans.co.ke, the officers acted on a tip off from the members of the public and intercepted a lorry parked at Shivembe village, about eight kilometres from the station.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the lorry was ferrying 350 boxes of cigarettes with each box containing 5,000 sticks. The suspects were also transporting 40 bags of 50 kg chicken feed.
The value of the cigarettes is estimated to be Ksh8.75 million while the cost of the chicken feed was estimated at Ksh24,600.
The driver of the lorry, Shadrack Kogo, aged 29 years, was taken into custody at Kakamega Police Station and booked, awaiting to be arraigned in court.
The cigarettes, chicken feed and the lorry were seized and are being held as exhibits at the police station. Officers from the outpost also informed Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers about the case.
According to the East Africa Community Customs Management Act 2004, a person who acquires or is in possession of uncustomed goods, commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine equal to 50 per cent of the dutiable value involved, or both.
The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) identifies uncustomed goods as one of the primary items involved in illicit trade, alongside piracy, sub-standard goods, unexcised goods, and restricted goods.
Latest data from the ACA estimates that one in five goods sold in Kenya are illicit, which poses not only a huge risk to the country’s economy, but to the safety and health of the nation.
