The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) has intensified crackdowns on substandard, illicit and counterfeit alcohol in the country.
The crackdown comes days after 13 people died and several others were hospitalised after drinking a suspected illicit brew in Kirinyaga.
The operation is being conducted in collaboration with officers from the Kenya Revenue Authority and the National Police Service.
A crackdown conducted on Wednesday night saw 750 litres of pure ethanol netted in Ruaka in Kiambu county.
Nacada in a statement on Thursday said the multi-agency team which was operating operating on intelligence, also recovered over 40 empty drums with a capacity of 250 litres each.
The drums, according to Nacada CEO Anthony Omerikwa are suspected to have contained the ethanol which they suspect had already been ferried for illegal activities.
"Drinking this type of alcohol is risky to health and could have dangerous consequences. Counterfeit or illegally produced alcohol can lead to blindness and even death," Omerikwa said.
The CEO reiterated the authority's commitment to work closely with the National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) and other law enforcement agencies to intensify the crackdown on substandard, illicit and counterfeit alcohol.
This, he said, is to safeguard the public from such harmful products and avert any deaths that might arise from that.
"The heightened vigilance and sporadic crackdown will continue across the country and anyone found to be complicit will face the full wrath of the law," Omerikwa said.
The authority has called on the public to share any information that they may have regarding the illegal manufacturing, distribution, or sale of any suspicious alcohol and other forms of drugs to the authorities.
The authority in a statement on Wednesday said the contents of the suspected brew that killed villagers in Kirinyaga are yet to be known.
Nacada urged the public to avoid consuming alcohol whose quality cannot be verified as investigative agencies try to unravel the content and source of the killer brew.
“From preliminary reports, the deaths occurred as a result of consumption of an unidentified substance whose contents are yet to be established,” Omerikwa said.
Kerugoya County Health boss George Karoki said among the deceased was a patient who had been referred to the Kerugoya County Referral Hospital but died upon arrival on Tuesday.
