KISUMU, Kenya, May 13 \u2013 Two men have been fined a total of Sh 700,000 each or face two years in jail after they were convicted by the Winam Law Courts in Kisumu for smuggling 8,750 litres of ethanol into the country, leading to a tax loss of Sh 10,463,430.<\/p>\n
The two, Salim Ooko and Joseph Odhiambo \u2014 a truck driver and loader respectively \u2014 were charged with conveying and possession of restricted goods, as well as concealment of imported goods, contrary to provisions of the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004 and the Excise Duty Act, 2015.<\/p>\n
The court heard that the accused were arrested on 23 July 2025 at Nyamasaria along the Kisumu\u2013Nairobi Highway in Kisumu County after authorities intercepted a lorry transporting 35 barrels, each containing 250 litres of suspected ethanol.<\/p>\n
The consignment had been concealed inside 66 empty wooden crates in an attempt to evade detection by enforcement officers.<\/p>\n
Investigations established that the shipment had no valid customs documentation or proof of payment from a licensed excise manufacturer.<\/p>\n
Principal Magistrate Hon. Dennis Ogal ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt based on evidence presented by two Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers.<\/p>\n
The court found that importation of ethanol is a restricted activity under customs law, while its manufacture and distribution are tightly regulated under excise duty regulations.<\/p>\n
Each of the accused was fined Sh 200,000 and Sh 150,000 on separate counts, totaling Sh 350,000 each. In default of payment, they will serve two years\u2019 imprisonment, with one year per count.<\/p>\n
Authorities noted that smuggled ethanol is often diverted into the illegal production of second-generation alcoholic beverages, which pose serious health risks and undermine lawful trade.<\/p>\n
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has intensified enforcement operations targeting increasingly sophisticated smuggling networks along key transport corridors and border points.<\/p>\n
Through its Investigation and Enforcement Department, the authority said it has enhanced surveillance to curb tax evasion, protect government revenue, and ensure fair market competition.<\/p>\n
KRA has also urged members of the public to report suspected cases of tax evasion and smuggling, assuring confidentiality and protection of informants\u2019 identities as part of ongoing efforts to combat illicit trade.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KISUMU, Kenya, May 13 \u2013 Two men have been fined a total of Sh 700,000 each or face two years in jail after they were convicted by the Winam Law Courts in Kisumu for smuggling 8,750 litres of ethanol into the country, leading to a tax loss of Sh 10,463,430. The two, Salim Ooko and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140968\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}