A multi-agency security team in Nakuru has impounded Ethanol and adulterated alcoholic drinks alongside manufacturing equipment at a residential home in Nakuru City.
Led by Nakuru East Senior Deputy County Commissioner Were Simiyu, the team comprising police, officers from National Council against Drug Abuse (NACADA) and Kenya Revenue Authority, as well as Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), also arrested the proprietor of the business and six workers found in possession of the drinks and equipment.
DCC Simiyu noted that the business, situated in the heart of KITI area on the outskirts of Nakuru City, was not registered and licensed as a manufacturer, endangering the lives of unsuspecting consumers.
“The drinks are repackaged in recycled bottles of common brands and resealed for the market. The three brands being counterfeited here, are filled from one source. The hygienic levels here are wanting and this is the alcohol that is killing our people out there as it is illicit and not standardized for consumption,” adding that dirty water was used to mix the drinks.
The consignment estimated to be worth Ksh 1,1585,000 and Ksh556,000 in tax is suspected to be supplied to markets in Nakuru and other neighboring counties
DCC Were regretted that the Proprietor was a repeat offender as he had been arrested and prosecuted last year for the same offence, adding that team was determined to rid of, such traders.
“We are urging the Judiciary to help us fight this menace by giving deterrent sentences,” he noted adding that the proprietor and his accomplices would be arraigned in court tomorrow.
NACADA’s South Rift Regional Manager Robert Olweny regretted that homes had been turned to illicit breweries.
“If someone wants to do this kind of business, there are correct procedures to apply for licenses and approval by KEBS. We will sustain crackdown against rogue manufacturers until we have wiped them out of this country,” he noted.
Olweny regretted that alcohol accounted for 11 percent of addictions, emphasising the need for stakeholders including counties to join hands in establishing rehabilitation and treatment centers that would help reverse the situation.
