Police officers from Adungosi Police Station in Teso South Sub- County, Busia County, have intercepted a lorry from Uganda along Busia-Kisumu Road, carrying 31 containers of 250litres capacity each, of a liquid suspected to be ethanol, and other illegal goods with an estimated market value of Sh. 10million.
Addressing the press at the Busia police station, the Busia County Commissioner, Dr. Ahmed Omar, said that the driver of the lorry acted suspiciously as he defied police order to stop.
The attempt by the suspect to escape back to Uganda bore no fruits, as he was intercepted near Busia Township Primary School, where two other suspected managed to escape to Uganda leaving the driver behind.
“They were trying to run away after the police suspected the lorry to be carrying illegal goods,” Omar said.
Dr. Omar confirmed that the suspect will remain under police custody pending investigation, as they wait to be arraigned in court thereafter.
“We are waiting for the KRA officers to come and verify what is inside the containers and all the assorted goods confiscated at the police station,” he noted.
He also said that security officers have been deployed along the entry border points, to curb such cases of illegal goods entering the country, stating that security personnel are doing their best despite the porous border.
Kenya’s long, porous border with Uganda remains the biggest challenge in the fight against smuggling and counterfeit goods.
High production costs and the mismanagement of factories have led to a drop in sugar production in Kenya over the past two decades, opening the door for smugglers. In 2020, sugar made up 48 percent of the goods smuggled into the country, according to the National Crime Research Centre.
Busia border remain high alert on illegal business and high rate of insecurity, something that remain big headache to the security personnel in the County.
“We are doing everything possible to guarantee the safety of Kenyans, and their businesses,” said Dr.Omar.
“We have intensified patrols, especially along the border at Malaba and Busia One Stop Border Pos (OSBP). We have also intensified road searches on the Busia-Kisumu and Malaba- Eldoret road,” he added.
