Police seize contraband cigarette worth Sh32 M

Thika, Wednesday, April 12, 2023

K.N.A By Muoki Charles

Kenyan authorities working on a tipoff intercepted a consignment of contraband cigarettes worth over Sh32 million during a raid in a Nairobi suburb.

The operation was undertaken team of detectives from Economic and Commercial Crimes Unit and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials in Kahawa West estate, Roysambu Constituency, Nairobi County.

The consignment consisted of 17,660 packets of Super Match cigarettes with 20 sticks each, 2,720 packets of Palma Safari cigarettes each with 20 sticks.

Others are assorted counterfeit KRA stamps and Uganda Revenue Authority stamps as well as empty cigarette cartons labeled British American Tobacco (BAT).

The consignment was nabbed at a palatial home at Maziwa Estate along Riara road following a tip off where a suspect identified as Veronicah Njeri Kariuki was arrested and is helping the police with investigation into the scam.

Officers at the scene of crime told journalists on conditions of anonymity that KRA has been following leads of the fake cigarette smuggling for two months after it got wind of the smuggling through the Busia-Kitale border points.

They said the total tax lost through the smuggled cigarettes is estimated at Sh18 million.

This comes at a time when the government is grappling with a severe cash crunch believed to be attributed to KRA not hitting its collection targets.

Courtesy K.N.A