A man attempts to remove the seal of one of the sixteen containers loaded with contraband sugar destined to Kakira Sugar Company in Uganda from Dubai after it was impounded at the port of Mombasa by the Kenya Revenue Authority officers in the ongoing 100% verification efforts to curb counterfeit and contraband cargo, February 26, 2016. [PHOTO BY GIDEON MAUNDU/STANDARD].

Security agents in Nairobi have arrested two people in connection with a Sh15 million contraband haul netted at the weekend.

A key suspect was arrested together with an accomplice as he attempted to move the consignment from a warehouse near the Embakasi Inland Container Depot to Nairobi’s Westlands suburb.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials and Kenya Railway police officers on a routine surveillance assignment pounced on the suspect and his accomplice as they packed 994 cartons of imported alcoholic drinks.

The goods have been moved to the KRA Wilson Airport warehouses as investigations continue.

The trade in illegal goods is wreaking havoc on the country’s capacity to mobilise development funds through taxes.

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With more than Sh280 billion estimated to be lost through illicit trade, such arrests are likely to inspire confidence in local traders who have had to contend with undue competition from tax evaders.

Last Thursday, President Uhuru Kenyatta, while addressing a Kenya Private Sector Alliance presidential roundtable, directed security agencies to intensify the crackdown on illicit trade.