KENYA: Police in Kisumu on Saturday busted a fuel smuggling racket, impounded 30, 000 litres of diesel and arrested one person.
The officers stormed a makeshift yard in Lela, about one kilometre from Maseno along the Kisumu-Busia road, in a sting operation and found a parked tanker with the siphoned fuel and made the seizure.
"We have been tracking the cartel for a while and we have reason to believe that there are other people involved," Kisumu County Police Commander Titus Yoma said, adding that the arrested suspect will help them unearth the cartel's operations.
He said four generators believed to have been used in the siphoning syndicate were also impounded.
Kisumu County Commissioner Maalim Mohamed warned that they would not allow exports to be diverted back into the country, saying it denied the country a lot of money in taxes.
"We will not condone this kind of practice," he said, "Let those involved be warned that we will relentlessly crack down on them and weed them out."
He urged business people to be transparent in their dealings, warning that police will sustain such operations.
Two weeks ago a sting operation conducted by the dreaded elite Recee squad unearthed five illegal fuel siphoning go downs in Nakuru County and more in other areas outside Nakuru.
The operation was carried out without the knowledge of local Police officers, who are suspected to be collaborating with those in the business, netted hundreds of litres of diesel, kerosene and petrol as well as apparatus used in repackaging of siphoned fuel. Seventeen suspects were nabbed.
