The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) in partnership with the multiagency team steering the nationwide combat against illicit trade and counterfeit products last evening seized excisable goods worth Ksh1.2 million a Kasarani, Nairobi.

Among the products seized include 268 cartons of Heineken, 16 cartons of faxes, eight cartons of Smirnoff whisky and four cartons of turbog. In the same operation, the team further netted eight cartons of tusker can, three cartons of Guinness can, eight packets of 4th street, four packets of cellar cask as well as four packets of Johnisberg white.

The products were seized in a residential house at Sports View Estate in Kasarani, Nairobi in the ongoing crackdown against counterfeit products and illicit trade. The netted products were later destroyed.

In a separate operation on the same day, the multiagency team nabbed 178 bottles of turborg in Njiru Sub-County, Nairobi. The products were seized outside a resort on a canter truck. The driver of the canter was arrested and booked at Kayole Police Station awaiting to be arraigned in court next week.

These incidents come in the wake of the ongoing sting countrywide crackdown on illicit trade and counterfeit products whose objective is not only to protect legitimate products from unfair competition posed by counterfeit products but also protect Kenyans from substandard and potentially harmful products.

Apart from KRA, other State agencies represented in the multiagency team include Kebs, NACADA, Department of Public Health and Ministry of Interior, the National Police Service and the Anti-Counterfeit Agency.

Recent studies indicate that many governments across the world have been losing billions of dollars to counterfeit products and illegitimate trade in the excisable goods sector.

Members of the public are, therefore, highly encouraged to support the efforts of the multiagency team by shunning questionable products as well as providing information regarding counterfeit products and the dealers.

Commissioner, Intelligence and Strategic Operations