- The team also recovered over 40 empty drums with a capacity of 250 litres each, suspected to have contained ethanol.
- The chemical is an ingredient in the manufacture of most alcohol in the market.
Image: KNA
Multi-agency teams on Wednesday seized over 700 litres of illegal ethanol in an operation in Ruaka, Kiambu.
This comes in the wake of an incident in which an illicit brew killed 13 people in villages in Kirinyaga on Tuesday, prompting protests from residents who burnt a bar.
Many others are blind in hospitals following the incident.
The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse through a multi-agency operation involving officers drawn from the Kenya Revenue Authority and the National Police Service Wednesday night netted the ethanol in a premise within Ruaka.
Operating on intelligence, the team also recovered over 40 empty drums with a capacity of 250 litres each, suspected to have contained ethanol and which is suspected to have already been ferried for illegal activities.
The chemical is an ingredient in the manufacture of most alcohol in the market.
“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,” Nacada CEO Anthony Omerikwa said.
He said the authority continues to work closely with the National Government Administrative Officers and other law enforcement agencies to intensify the crackdown on substandard, illicit, and counterfeit alcohol to safeguard the public from such harmful products.
“The heightened vigilance and sporadic crackdowns will continue across the country and anyone found to be complicit will face the full wrath of the law,” he said.
Omerikwa appealed to 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 information can also be shared with us through our Toll Free line 1192 which is available for 24 hours.