Tuesday, March 11, 2025 - DCI detectives have arrested 18 suspects at a godown in Eastleigh, Nairobi, after they were ambushed while offloading a consignment of fabrics allegedly on transit from the port of Mombasa to DRC.
The arrest which was effected last evening followed days of
surveillance by hawkshaws from the elite Operation Support Unit (OSU), who have
been trailing a suspected ring of organized criminals involved in tax fraud by
falsely declaring goods as exports but later diverting them into local markets.
In a classic case of impunity and conspiracy with rogue
government officials, the trailer carrying the consignment (http://reg.no. KBT
641G/ZD3436), was spotted changing its original registration plates to KBY 548K
at the Machakos Junction, and at the same time tampered with the Regional
Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) before proceeding with the journey
towards Nairobi.
After several stops around the Capital perhaps to find out
whether the tampering had been detected, the trailer proceeded with the journey
to Mai Mahiu, where the driver assisted by another person decorated the truck
with some stickers to further conceal the identity of the trailer.
The vehicle then took a turn to Nairobi's Eastleigh area at
the KBS parking yard where it was opened and the offloading started.
Right on cue, the detectives struck rounding up the 18,
including tMeshack Leo (driver) and two store owners, Yusuf Mohammed Noor and
Abdi Nasir Dur.
Preliminary investigations have established that the same
syndicate has been under investigations by DCI and KRA Investigations
Department whereby it previously diverted 5 trucks with the same type of
consignment and consignee/ importer, one Kasdama Kasongo Francois of DRC.
It is also believed that the suspects are part of a wider
criminal web that has been diverting goods on transit, having mastered the art
of compromising RECTS officers manning the trackers and those deployed on the
transit corridor to respond in case of an alert on interference of the RECTS
seal.
Notably, imported textile is subjected to higher rates of
taxation thus the cartel evades huge amounts of taxes leading to loss of
revenue by the government.
The scene is being processed as the investigation continues.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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