Police officers in Nairobi are holding a consignment of suspected smuggled cigarettes valued at Ksh30 million.
The consignment believed to have been smuggled into the country was nabbed on Tuesday by a multi-agency team of detectives based at the Economic and Commercial Crimes Unit and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the consignment comprising of over 20,000 packets of popular Supermatch and Palma Safari cigarettes brands was seized by the undercover team posing as potential clients at a residential house along Riara road, near Shra Engineering in Kahawa West, Nairobi County.
Also recovered during the operation were assorted counterfeit stamps from the KRA and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
Empty cigarette cartons labeled British American Tobacco (BAT), Kenya and Supermatch were also seized.
“One suspect identified as Veronicah Njeri Kariuki was arrested and detained at Muthaiga police station,” the DCI said.
“She is assisting detectives with investigations before being arraigned in court,” it added.
The police further say the total tax lost through the smuggled cigarettes is estimated at Ksh18 million.
