A multi-agency team comprising the Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA) and security officers has cracked down on a syndicate dealing in unfit cooking oil, seizing consignments and other suspected proceeds of crime worth over Sh100 million at a private yard in Mombasa.
During the raid on the Shimanzi yard on Sunday, the team intercepted several 20-litre jerricans of cooking oil from various brands, as well as 13 tankers used to smuggle the products into the yard.
A multi-agency team seizes counterfeit cooking oil in Shimanzi, Mombasa in this photo taken on September 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation
Led by Ibrahim Bule, the ACA's Coast region boss, and Ali Nuno, the Coast police commander, the team confiscated jerricans from more than 10 Kenyan-manufactured brands, which they said were substandard and unfit for human consumption.
"ACA inspectors, together with the police, raided the yard after increasing complaints from cooking oil manufacturers over uncertified cooking oil in the local market. We followed the tip and managed to intercept 13 trucks, which had just offloaded crude oil mixed with some chemicals and packaged ready for distribution," said Mr Bule.
He added that unprocessed edible oil, collected from Mombasa Port, was being illegally repackaged in the yard under the name of registered cooking oil brands.
"Apart from the oil being mixed with different substances, the yard where packaging is being done is in a very poor hygienic condition," said Mr Bule.
A multi-agency team seizes counterfeit cooking oil in Shimanzi, Mombasa in this photo taken on September 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation
Mr Nuno said that the owner of the yard had been identified, and that the police were following up leads in order to arrest the suspect.
"We have several people who are helping the police to arrest the suspect. According to public health officers, who are present in the team, the unrefined cooking oil packaged and seized today is a risk to consume and can contribute to several health conditions such as cancer," said the police commander.
"We are also following leads to trace several tonnes, which might have been sneaked into the market... We have also begun a campaign to educate the public on the genuine products."
The ACA has deployed more inspectors to the Coast region to deal with the increasing amount of smuggling and counterfeit goods. Mombasa serves as a key entry point for counterfeit products in Kenya, fuelling profits for cartels through illegal importation.
The ACA says that cartels exploit loopholes in the 600-kilometre-long porous coastline and port system by repackaging and labelling goods as genuine. This enables them to bypass customs and flood the local market with hazardous and substandard products.
