Police recover 1,000 litres of ethanol during raid at an illegal distillery at posh Kahawa Sukari residence in Kiambu
Acting on a tip-off from members of the public, a multi-agency team comprising Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) personnel, administrators and police officers laid an ambush and arrested two suspects who were found working at the premises located at Isiolo 2nd South Avenue
Police in Ruiru, Kiambu county have raided an illegal distillery at a posh residence in Kahawa Sukari Estate and recovered 1,000 litres of ethanol among other assorted counterfeit liquor brands of unknown value.
Acting on a tip-off from members of the public, a multi-agency team comprising Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) personnel, administrators and police officers laid an ambush and arrested two suspects who were found working at the premises located at Isiolo 2nd South Avenue.
Area sub county police commander Charles Kibathi told journalists at the scene that the main suspect who had leased the house from a widow had managed to escape the police dragnet but officers were pursuing him using undisclosed leads.
When National Government Administrative Officers, accompanied by leaders of the local estate welfare association struck, they found the distilling process and packaging still going on in the ground floor of the palatial two-storey home, whose owner had leased it and relocated to her rural home.
From a casual observation, the KRA stamps and Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) seals on the liquor bottles appeared genuine, but when subjected to close scrutiny by scanning they were found to be fake.
The alcoholic drinks being manufactured at the premises included popular brands like Kenya Wine Agencies Ltd (KWAL), UDV (Kenya) Ltd, Trace Vodka, County, People Vodka, Everest, among others.
Kibathi said at least 1,000 litres of ethanol, 10,000 bottles, 126 cartons, KRA stamps, distilling equipment, several water tanks and bottle tops among others were recovered at the scene and the exhibits later transported to the KRA warehouses in Nairobi for safe storage pending further investigations.
“The house has been cordoned off as a crime scene by our officers pending further investigations. We are pursuing the main suspect who managed to flee from the police dragnet but we will catch up with him” said Kibathi.
The residents’ leaders headed by the Chairman Kahawa Sukari Welfare Association Samuel Mwaniki disclosed that the man behind the illegal business had rented the premises in December last year.
Mwaniki said it was not the first time that a liquor distillery was found operating within the estate and urged residents to cooperate with security officers in weeding out people manufacturing illicit brews and selling them to unsuspecting customers, particularly the youth.
“These illegal brewers and distillers of counterfeit alcohol are not only endangering the lifes of our youth by selling harmful products, but they are also ruining the economy as they do not pay taxes,” said the official.
Area Member of the Kiambu County Assembly Kennedy Odhiambo said the business was not licensed by the regional government and asked locals to be on the lookout for crooks purporting to do legal business.
He also asked landlords to ensure that any lease agreements and details of the tenants are shared with administration and security officers.
“Landlords should involve security officers and local chiefs when leasing their property so that the new tenants can be vetted thoroughly to avoid situations like this one,” said Odhiambo.
Ruiru Deputy County Commissioner Julius Too said the government will not allow such businesses to operate within residential areas and noted that the main culprit had apparently been running similar establishments elsewhere.
“He is a notorious person who has been shifting from different areas and he now settled on Kahawa Sukari. We are on his radar,” said the DCC.
