Four suspects including a mother and her daughter have been arrested by police in Trans-Nzoia County for smuggling sugar from Uganda.
The arrest comes after County Commander Jacinta Wesonga led a team of officers in their homestead in Maridadi in Kwanza where they found 200 bags branded in various Ugandan company names.
The officers who reacted on a tip-off said that when they raided the homestead, they found the suspect's workers repackaging the sugar into local company packages.
"We were given a tip-off by members of the public regarding a consignment containing sugar which is believed to have originated from Uganda," Wesonga said.
"We have been receiving intelligence reports from the border that dirty deals are going on when we laid a trap and succeeded to raid the home and recover sugar," Wesonga added.
During the Tuesday morning operation, the officers also recovered one electric sewing machine, packaging bags, and a Mitsubishi lorry under registration number KCK 980 W.
“We managed to apprehend two workers, a mother and sister to the main culprit who escaped our dragnet. The suspects are currently being held at Kitale police station for further investigations," Wesonga added.
The suspects are now awaiting to be arraigned in court once investigations into the matter are concluded.
To curb further cases of smuggling sugar into the country, the police boss said that security agencies are on high alert to stamp out the infiltration of untaxed goods from Uganda which she says hinder genuine trade between Kenya and its neighbour.
"We have formed a multi-agency team to conduct a security operation on counterfeit goods in the county," said Wesonga.
