Officers from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Saturday launched a manhunt for a bar owner who escaped after failing to settle Ksh4 million tax arrears.
In the joint operation, the officers raided a residential house situated within the Kirigiti area in Kiambu County, where over 3,800 bottles of counterfeit drinks worth Ksh7 million were recovered.
In a statement by the DCI, the suspect had failed to pay VAT on the products amounting to Ksh1 million as well as excise duty of Ksh2 million.
Additionally, 24,000 pieces of counterfeit KRA Stamps, 260 litres of Ethanol, sacks of assorted bottle caps, and 3,440 pieces of empty bottles were also recovered from the same house.
“Recoveries deposited being escorted to a KRA Warehouse. Further, detectives have launched a manhunt of the suspect who is still at large,” the detectives noted.
However, the detectives did not detail how the suspect escaped from the officers's trail.
In a similar incident last week on Saturday, detectives from DCI, in partnership with KRA officials, raided an estate located off Thika Road in an operation to nab individuals attempting to evade taxes.
The officers who conducted the raid in the mid-morning allegedly recovered 40 litres of Ethanol and over 24,000 pieces of counterfeit KRA stamps.
The arrests come against the backdrop of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's directive on the sale of illicit alcohol and brews in the country.
The second-in-command placed police commanders and administrative officers on task to ensure the illegal activity was brought to an end.
According to Gachagua, the government would not rest until the sale of illicit alcohol was dealt with, further noting that nobody would be spared.
