A multi-agency team from Uasin Gishu County on Wednesday night busted an illegal alcohol factory that has been operating within the Kimumu estate on the outskirts of Eldoret.
The factory was busted following what the Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Dr Eddyson Nyale said, they were reports they received from members of the Community Policing Committee.
Addressing a media briefing at the illegal factory on Thursday, October 6, 2022, Nyale accompanied by top security officers and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) among others said the illegal business had been set up in several residential houses.
“Within this environment, there is a church near and these people are basically in a place you cannot easily tell what they were doing,” Dr Nyale said.
At the factory, the multi-agency team found bottle tops, ethanol and several branded alcohol – Silver Star and Golden dream – which are believed not to have been licensed to be in the market.
“These are alcohol brands that have not been approved. As we speak, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBS), KRA and Public Health officials have taken samples to the national lab to test on their quality,” said the Uasin Gishu County Commissioner.
Killer alcohol
He further pointed out that alcohol from the illegal factory is believed to be behind several past cases of deaths and side effects on locals that had consumed it.
During the raid on the factory, 334 boxes of Golden Dream alcohol were found alongside 705 litres of Ethanol spirit.
Fake KRA seals were also found at the factory with the County Commissioner issuing a stern warning to others engaged in the illegal trade.
‘If you have to do business, make sure it is a legitimate one. We cannot allow businesses that will end up causing blindness, death and other effects on the people,” Dr Nyale said.
“Today is just the start. If you have any intention of setting up a similar factory look for another county. For those that think we don’t know them, we are coming for you next,” he added.
Seven people were arrested during the raid on the illegal factory.
Uasin Gishu Deputy County Police Commander Zachaus Ng’eno says the seven were found in the factory and investigations are still ongoing to determine if they are the owners.
‘For now, they are the prime suspects. We are yet to find out if this factory is licensed or not, but we are treating it as an outlawed outlet,” Ng’eno said.
