Police have arrested and detained a suspect and a vehicle that was found
carrying 50 bags of contraband sugar in Garissa.
The suspect had earlier escaped a dragnet in the area and abandoned his vehicle carrying the sugar.
He had originated the Kenya-Somalia main border with the product when police intercepted him in Garissa town.
On Saturday, he abandoned his vehicle and escaped. The vehicle was taken to the local station before the suspect was traced and arrested hours later.
Police say some of the sugar being consumed locally is smuggled from the main Kenya-Somalia border.
This affects the local production of the product and business in general.
Cases of illegal importation of contraband products are on the rise amid police operations to address the same.
Last week,
police officers from the Endebess Police Station
intercepted a lorry and seized a substantial haul of 32 drums of ethanol.
The operation unfolded following a tip-off
regarding a lorry suspected of transporting ethanol.
Acting swiftly, the officers set up an ambush along the Suam-Kitale road, successfully stopping the vehicle.
Upon escorting the truck
back to the Endebess Police Station, a search revealed that the ethanol was
cleverly concealed beneath 25 bags of maize and 20 bags of animal feed.
The driver and his loader were taken into
custody pending arraignment, police said.
The seized ethanol drums were secured at the station pending further action from Kenya Revenue Authority officials.
The KRA officials later visited the site and took over the product.
Officials say some of those involved in the business bribe their way to be able to pass through many security checks. Others use unauthorized routes to evade detection by security agencies.
Multi-agency teams are involved in the war against contraband goods.
