NAIROBI Kenya, Mar 13 – The Kenya Revenue Authorities investigators have arrested 18 suspects in Eastleigh, Nairobi, for orchestrating a sophisticated cargo dumping scheme to evade taxes in a major crackdown on tax evasion.
The operation, led by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) investigators in collaboration with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), exposed a well-planned network that manipulated cargo tracking systems to divert goods meant for transit.
In a statement, KRA investigators revealed that the suspects falsely declared locally bound goods as transit cargo to avoid paying taxes.
They then altered vehicle registration plates mid-journey and tampered with electronic tracking seals on trucks transporting the cargo.
These seals, monitored in real time by KRA’s Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), are designed to prevent diversion and unauthorized offloading of goods.
“The culprits in this scheme distort the truck’s identity to conceal the diversion of the goods and stay off the monitoring teams at KRA’s Central Command & Control and Rapid Response Units (RRU) radar,” KRA stated.
The scheme involved switching truck identities to evade detection. Normally, transit goods are required to reach designated border points before the seals are removed, but the suspects illegally intercepted the shipments en route.
One of the intercepted consignments involved a 40-foot container loaded with textiles that left Mombasa under the guise of transit goods destined for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, authorities tracked the truck as it deviated from the designated route and was offloaded in Eastleigh, Nairobi.
During the operation, detectives observed the truck driver, Meshack Leo, change the truck’s registration at the Machakos Junction and tamper with the Customs electronic seal before proceeding with the journey towards Nairobi.
The suspects also erased the “transit goods” markings on the trailer before making a U-turn in Mai Mahiu.
The sting operation unfolded late Monday night, with authorities striking as the goods worth Sh3.5 million in taxes were being offloaded at around 10:30 PM.
Investigators also linked the listed consignee, Kandama Kasongo Franchoise, to at least nine similar cases, which have cost the country approximately Sh21.9 million in lost tax revenue.
“The enforcement teams had been trailing the truck from Mombasa for days and nights while waiting to strike at the right moment,” the investigators revealed.
Among those arrested were store owners Yusuf Mohammed Noor and Abdi Nasir, alongside several others involved in offloading the cargo.
Authorities impounded the truck and its contents, which were transferred to a KRA customs warehouse for further investigations.
“This operation underscores the government’s commitment to enforcing tax compliance and holding offenders accountable for tax evasion offenses,” KRA affirmed.
Officials have warned that those engaging in illegal cargo dumping schemes will face the full force of the law.
