A conspiracy to defraud the government of millions of shillings in taxes from the clearance of goods imported through the Mombasa port has put Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers under scrutiny, with several suspected of running organised tax evasion rackets.
The racket was exposed after more than 100 containers of rice were irregularly released from a Container Freight Station (CFS) in the port city without undergoing the mandatory regulatory checks.
The containers, loaded with imported white rice valued at over Sh120 million, were smuggled out and released into the market, sparking fears that the products may also have bypassed crucial safety and quality inspections by regulatory agencies such as the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs).
Sources familiar with the probe disclosed that some KRA staff from the Investigations and Enforcement departments have already had their system access rights withdrawn over suspected links to the syndicate. This move has barred them from taking part in customs operations since July, when the irregular clearance was first detected.
“Changes were also made at the container freight stations where enforcement managers were replaced,” said a detective who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Workers offload bags of rice which were intercepted by Kenya Revenue Authority at Mombasa port.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
In a statement, KRA confirmed the irregular clearance but maintained that the full amount of taxes was eventually recovered. The authority described the scam as an attempt to defraud the government of Sh123 million involving 161 containers of rice.
However, this figure contradicts numbers given by internal sources, who claim the total stood at 199 containers, raising questions over the whereabouts of the missing 38 containers.
“The anomaly was detected through routine audit checks, prompting immediate and decisive action by the Authority. KRA has since recovered the full amount of revenue that was at risk of loss,” the statement dated September 4 reads in part.
The taxman added that investigations are ongoing in collaboration with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and other law enforcement agencies to unmask and prosecute those behind the scheme.
Kenya Revenue Authority intercepts bags of rice which had been underdeclared as 1000 bags instead of 15,045 bags.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
The rice smuggling saga is the latest in a string of high-profile incidents in Mombasa involving contraband goods and sophisticated smuggling networks.
Just last Sunday, a multi-agency team comprising the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) and security officers exposed a cartel dealing in unfit cooking oil. Officers seized consignments and other suspected proceeds of crime worth more than Sh100 million from a private yard in Shimanzi, Mombasa. The raid led to the interception of several 20-litre jerricans of cooking oil from assorted brands, along with 13 tankers suspected to have been used to sneak the products into the yard.
In another case, several tonnes of contraband sugar worth more than Sh873 million remain impounded at a private warehouse in Shimoni, after being smuggled into the country about three months ago. Nation has established that the goods arrived on June 3 and were seized shortly after being offloaded from a vessel.
Barely two days later, 144 bags of sugar were intercepted at the Lunga Lunga and Taveta One Stop Border Posts. According to KRA, the seizures were valued at more than Sh15 million combined. On June 12, more consignments of cooking oil and sugar were nabbed by a multi-agency team at the Taveta border.
More recently, on August 22, three lorries carrying 676 bags of counterfeit sugar and cooking oil worth Sh10 million were impounded at the Sabaki Bridge roadblock along the Malindi–Garsen Highway in Kilifi County.
According to the ACA, the sugar originated from Somalia
