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Smugglers exploit porous borders to flood informal markets with substandard goods
Impounded counterfeit goods. Counterfeit and smuggling businesses are thriving in the Coast region.
The high cost of living and the desire for cheap goods have created a ready market for unscrupulous traders who supply substandard products, with consumers ignoring the possible health effects of what they consume.
The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) has traced different products, including the unrefined cooking oil recently found in Mombasa, to Likoni and other informal settlement areas. It was established that the product is mostly used by roadside food vendors and sold in small amounts in kiosks.
“We have several people who are helping us in tracing the market of counterfeit and contraband goods which have flooded the market in the Coast region. We have more inspectors and we hope to deal with this menace soon,” said ACA Coast regional coordinator Ibrahim Bulle.
A multi-agency team seizes counterfeit cooking oil in Shimanzi, Mombasa in this photo taken on September 7, 2025.
As counterfeit and smuggling businesses thrive in the Coast region, questions have been raised on the role government officers are playing in facilitating the malpractice, which not only risks the lives of Kenyans but also costs the government millions of shillings in lost revenue. One of the major smuggling routes has been traced to Kwale County, in areas bordering Tanzania.
On a normal day along the shores of the Indian Ocean in Lunga Lunga, Kwale County, fishermen go about their usual business. Their boats land on the shores as they carry kilos of fish from the catch of the day.
However, the same shores change late in the evening, becoming a haven for illicit trade, mostly the importation of goods such as sugar from other countries. The produce is passed through ungazetted border areas and illegal routes along Kwale’s vast coastline, making tight surveillance a challenge.
In areas like Jego in Vanga, near Tanzania, criminals take advantage of villages where the border cuts directly through communities. There are no official roads or paths.
The movement begins either late in the evening or as early as 3am, when motorcycles are loaded with three or four bags of produce. Riders then make several trips until all the goods are delivered.
The Nation has learnt that local businessmen in the county and across the Coast region are the main suspects said to be ordering the goods from across the border to evade taxes. They then facilitate delivery to hidden destinations or yards where the goods are repackaged.
“They use local fishermen’s boats to transport the goods to the shores. Once it gets there, it is given to boda-boda riders who also use smaller roads to transport the goods. This could be delivered to a store or warehouse before further distribution is done,” said a source who did not want to be named for safety reasons.
Recent incidents have seen brown sugar from Brazil and Eswatini seized by police while in transit. Besides sugar, soap powder, rice, maize flour, and other foodstuffs are among the most commonly trafficked goods.
Last weekend, security officials impounded smuggled goods in transit and arrested over 15 suspects.
Lunga Lunga Sub-county Police Commander Abdirahman Mohamed said that even though there was no known smuggling syndicate at the official One Stop Border Post (OSBP), serious measures have been put in place to eradicate the vice.
He highlighted challenges such as the proximity of the Indian Ocean in rural areas, where local fishing boats are alleged to be used, making detection difficult.
“The border is porous and the local boda-boda riders are the ones engaging in transporting using the 'panya routes' at night time to evade Kenya Revenue Authority and police arrests,” said Mr Mohamed in an interview.
He said the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Kenya Coast Guard Services carry out water patrols within Kenyan territorial waters, which has made an impact.
“The few cases detected have been acted upon, arrests were made and there have been no fresh smuggling incidents,” he explained.
Investigations have also revealed that arresting boda-boda riders transporting goods is difficult, as they often ride at high speeds on rough roads, putting police patrols at risk of accidents while chasing them.
Meanwhile, Kwale County Commissioner Stephen Orinde has issued a warning to those smuggling goods, especially sugar, saying they are following up leads to arrest them.
“We have identified some of those businessmen who do not want to pay taxes by bypassing customs and are also monitoring the situation,” he said.
Previously, officials from the KRA admitted to losing millions of shillings in revenue through the porous borders where traders move goods in or out of the country without being checked.
While agencies collaborate to end the smuggling, they also admit that suspects devise new ways of transporting goods and evading taxes whenever crackdowns occur.
