END OF THE ROAD AS ETHANOL SMUGGLERS ARRESTED AND CHARGED

END OF THE ROAD AS ETHANOL SMUGGLERS CHARGED

By Samuel Migele

The accused separately charged with smuggling ethanol worth Kshs 10.8 M

Two truck drivers have been separately charged with smuggling of

ethanol value of Kshs 10.8 million and tax value of Kshs 3.2 million

before Busia Law Courts Senior Resident Magistrate Phoebe Kulecho.

Peter Kimana Ngugi and Boniface Gitau Wanjiku both separately faced

similar counts of possession of restricted goods and that of conveying

uncustomed goods both criminal offences according to East Africa

Community Customs Management Act,2004.

The two were arrested separately on 15th January 2021 at Busia OSBP

after their trucks were found loaded with 128 drums each containing 200

litres of ethanol with each truck carrying 64 drums. The ethanol was

concealed under 117 MDF boards and 68 ceiling boards.

The accused persons denied all the charges and were each released on a

bond of Kshs 100,000 or cash bail of Kshs 50,000. The case will be

mentioned on 15th February 2021 to fix a hearing date.

If convicted, the accused persons will pay a fine of half the customs

value or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years under

EACCMA,2004, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or a fine

not exceeding ten thousand dollars and forfeiture of the goods to the

KRA Customs Commissioner.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) strives to detect and disrupt tax

evasion schemes and prosecute criminals who engage in smuggling of

goods through our borders to ensure that all individuals pay their fair

share of customs duty and the right amount of taxes are paid to the

government.