Friday, October 24, 2014
GARISSA (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan police have intercepted contraband goods in Garissa which borders Somalia and arrested five suspects.
Kenyan officials said the consignment, which included 130 bags of sugar, one bale containing assorted lassos, 24 boxes of sandals and 8 bales of praying mats worth 22,500 U.S. dollars, was from Somalia and was destined to a retail store in Garissa town.
Garissa deputy commissioner Dominic Kyenza said police also managed to arrest five people including the owners of the consignment.
“Our police officers who acted on a tip off from members of the public managed to intercept the lorry before it could reach its destination. They also managed to arrest five occupants,” Kyenza told journalists in Garissa.
“Two of them are the driver and the conductor of the lorry while the other three are the owners of the consignment,” he added.
Kyenza said the three were arrested while in a car after they had gone to receive the consignment.
Smuggling of sugar has been rampant along the Kenya-Somalia border since the fall of Siad Barre’s regime in the 1990s. It has created an “untouchable” community of millionaires, mainly Kenyan Somali traders, who are protected by a ragtag army in their trade deals.
Kenya produces 500,000 metric tonnes of sugar annually, while the consumption is about 800,000 metric tonnes, leaving a shortfall of 300,000 metric tonnes.
This shortfall is supposed to be imported from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) region.
The government official said the five will be taken to court immediately investigation are completed adding that the consignment will be destroyed after the court orders.
Kyenza warned individuals involved in smuggling in the country illegal goods, saying that the government would not allow such illegal trade.
“We won’t allow such illegal business to thrive in our country because it is the same business that has led to loss of several deaths in the region including our own police officers,” said Kyenza.
He said they believe unscrupulous business people from the region who are out to ensure that the business continues were closely working with terrorists, adding that the government will put all efforts to make sure that it is eradicated.
Markets in northeast Kenya are flooded with contraband goods, such as food stuff, contraction materials, petroleum product, and motor vehicle spare parts among others are smuggled into the country from neighboring countries.
About 70 percent of the goods found at the markets are not of Kenyan brand but smuggled into the country from mainly Somalia leading to heavy lose of government revenue.
The illegal cross border trade which is carried out by the Al- Shabaab terror group has been a cause of concern for security officers as the contraband goods smuggled from the neighboring country end up flooding the local markets.
Police also suspect that the trade is a key income for the terror group after AMISOM flashed out the militant from Somalia coastal line.