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7 Arrested for adulterating fuel in Nairobi

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director General Pavel Robert Oimeke termed the latest discovery as alarming despite measures put in place to curb the vice, saying it posed a serious safety risk to the community nearby/MOSES MUOKI

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 29 – Seven people found adulterating fuel at a yard in Industrial Area have been arrested and over 5,000 liters of diesel, petrol, engine oil and kerosene seized.

Authorities also recovered an oil tanker and an oil pump.

The yard, which is located adjacent to a populous informal settlement has operated for months until a team of Kenya Power officials stumbled on it during an inspection tour.

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director General Pavel Robert Oimeke termed the latest discovery as alarming despite measures put in place to curb the vice, saying it posed a serious safety risk to the community nearby.

According Oimeke, more than a 100 similar adulteration yards have been closed since May last year, saying the authority is set to increase its presence by opening more inspectorate branches across the country.

He said there were more than 20 yards in the Industrial Area alone which have since been closed.

“This war cannot be won by us alone. It requires a multi-agency approach,” Oimeke told journalists on Monday, after inspecting the yard.

He added: “my message is that it is not going to be business as usual. The scrupulous businessman who wants to make easy money by cheating Kenyans with petroleum products, they are not going to operate anymore.”

He said those behind the yard “are daring” since it is near a police station and a chief’s office.

He has vowed to sustain such operations to ensure the illegal yards are no longer operational.

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Despite the government increasing the price of kerosene, rogue fuel dealers continue with the illegal business, which leads to a loss of Sh34 billion annually worth of tax.

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