As the crackdown on contraband milk products continues, five more suspects were on Saturday arrested at Eastleigh in Nairobi and several recoveries made.
This followed an undercover operation by DCI officers tasked to flush out identified criminal syndicates releasing substandard and harmful products to the market, illegal ventures that not only cause unfair competition with genuine sellers but also put consumers’ health on the line.
Folding sleeves for the assignment, detectives identified Abdullahi Mohamed, a notorious broker who secured a deal to sell them 50 bags of the milk powder each weighing 25Kg at a price of Sh16,300/= per bag.
They were directed to Halgan Store located along Captain Mungai Street off 4th street Eastleigh where loaders were waiting to start the job, but not before the “buyers” paid the full amount of the agreed Sh815,000.
The officers who were only armed with a “down-payment” requested the then furious sellers to let them make a call and request for the balance, getting a chance to call in the action team that apprehended the suspects and seized the consignment which was actually short of the agreed load.
Said Ali Yussuf, Abdinoor Rashid Mulsal, Abdullahi Mohamed (broker), Abdirizack Said Ali and Ahmed Abdirizak Adan await arraignment Monday 8.
What was seized at the store
The exhibits seized at the store include 14 bags each weighing 25Kg full of cream milk powder branded FRESH DAIRY product of Brookside Uganda covered in sacks (packaging in deplorable condition), 77 containers each weighing 800gm of APTAMIL breast milk product of United Kingdom (some of the milk powder containing fungi) and 20 containers each weighing 400gm of NESTLE NAN OPTIPRO product of Mexico.
Investigations ongoing to establish the main suspect.
The arrest comes barely a day after an intelligence-led operation conducted by the Operations Support Unit (OSU) detectives to nab cartels selling contraband milk powder led to the seizure of over 32.5 tonnes of the same at a godown located along the Eastern Bypass.
In the sting operation, an unsuspecting known broker in Eastleigh by the name Ali Noor directed an undercover hawkshaw to Kamakis area along Eastern Bypass, after he (officer) posed as a potential buyer.
On arrival, a KBP 480A Mitsubishi truck loaded with an agreed 150 bags each weighing 25Kg arrived. The agreed price was Sh16,500 per bag, translating to Sh2,475,000 in the transaction.
The truck was under the escort of the consignment owner one Joseph Waweru who was driving a Toyota Prado Reg. No. KDN 573V and who is believed to be the main supplier to business people within Nairobi.
Other detectives who were stealthily following pounced on the two suspects (Joseph Waweru and Ali Noor) but the youthful truck driver beetled off like a terrified rat.
Godown in Ruai area
After interrogation, OSU team managed to trace the godown of the main suspect (Joseph Waweru) which is located at Twin Industrial Park Godowns within Ruai area off Eastern Bypass.
Gaining access in the presence of the suspect, they recovered another 1150 bags each weighing 25Kg of milk powder (5brands) and 289 bags each weighing 25Kg of Maize corn starch.
Also inside the godown was a truck Reg No. KDG 087Z with 17 empty drums suspected to be used to transport Ethanol.
The brands of the milk powder include: 181 bags branded Fresh Dairy product of Brookside Uganda, 421 bags branded Gardo product of New Zealand, 485 bags of Non Dairy Creamer product of China, 56 bags branded SAMA product of New Zealand, 6 bags branded Lato product of Uganda and 289 bags of Maize corn starch product of India.
The suspects have since been placed in police custody as further investigations continue.
