Ten employees beat a dragnet set by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) who raided their premises on suspicion of illegal activities.
In a report released by the DCI on Wednesday, February 8, the officers raided a godown in Kasarani following intelligence reports of an unauthorised distillery operating in the area.
“The team raided an unmarked go-down within Kasarani’s Vickens 30 Industrial park where detectives arrested one suspect,” the statement read in part.
Officers discovered a fully-fledged manufacturing and bottling plant in the storage facility and litters of unaccustomed alcohol set to be bottled and released into the market.
“The cops recovered an assortment of different types of spirits, 250-litre drums of ethanol, assorted bottle lids and counterfeit customs stamps,” DCI noted in their statement.
In addition, the multi-agency team unearthed a total of 8,000 litres of blended alcohol and three empty 3,000-litre tanks used for storing the now-confiscated alcoholic beverage.
After the raid, detectives from DCI’s Economic and Commercial Crimes Unit cordoned the scene for processing and investigation.
The suspect was taken into police custody for questioning and to assist the multi-agency team in tracking down his 10 accomplices who managed to escape.
Tuesday’s burst is part of a series of sting government operations across the country to nab businesses engaged in the illegal distillation and sale of alcohol without the requisite approvals.
Save for it being a conduit to evade paying tax, the products carry dire health risks among consumers.
On January 6, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki declared alcohol abuse a catastrophe not only in Central Kenya region but across the country.
In severe incidences, consumers have lost their lives with some ending up in hospitals.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE