Thursday August 21, 2025
Kenyan authorities display sacks of smuggled sugar recovered from trucks intercepted in Malindi on Aug. 20, 2025. The Anti-Counterfeit Authority said the consignment, valued at nearly 10 million shillings, was brought in illegally from Somalia. CREDIT: Anti-Counterfeit Authority
Mombasa, Kenya (HOL) — Kenyan authorities seized three trucks loaded with smuggled sugar and cooking oil from Somalia, arresting eight suspects in a coastal operation that officials say strikes at the heart of the country’s multibillion-shilling contraband trade.
The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) said Thursday the joint operation with a multi-agency security team in Malindi uncovered 676 sacks of sugar hidden in the trucks. The goods, valued at nearly 10 million Kenyan shillings ($77,000), were transported illegally across the border and intended for local markets.
ACA Director General Mbugua Njoroge said the seizure laid bare the economic and security risks posed by contraband networks. He warned that smuggling deprives the government of vital tax revenue, undermines lawful businesses, and could finance organized crime and extremist groups.
“This seizure is not only about protecting Kenyans from counterfeit sugar and oil that could be harmful,” Njoroge said. “It is also about defending our economy and national security. Fake sugar damages the domestic sugar industry, hurting thousands of farmers and millions of people who rely on it.”
Each year, Kenya is estimated to lose more than 153 billion shillings ($1.18 billion) in tax revenue to illicit trade, figures that also translate into over 40,000 jobs lost. Officials say the Malindi operation is part of a campaign to dismantle smuggling routes that run through borderlands and coastal entry points.
In the past year alone, ACA reported confiscating contraband worth more than 500 million shillings ($3.9 million) and arresting over 120 suspects linked to the illegal trade.
