A multi-agency inspection team noted that a consignment of 937 cartons containing 9.37 million sticks was labelled ‘made in Sudan’, even though the country of origin was indicated as Cambodia.
Cargo awaits collection at the Mombasa port. Anti-Counterfeit Agency inspectors seized more than 8.7 million sticks of counterfeit cigarettes at the port.
Earlier on December 11, 2025, the KRA said it had unearthed a well-orchestrated cigarettes concealment and smuggling scheme along the Kenyan border with South Sudan.
Investigators said an operation along the Northern corridor tracked a 40-foot container from South Sudan that entered Kenya through the Nadapal border point, where it was declared as empty.
The truck’s movement was tracked and eventually intercepted at Makutano junction in Kapenguria on December 10, 2025. Upon verification, the investigators discovered that its trailer has two hidden compartments meant to conceal smuggled goods.
A total of 316 cartons and 364 packets, carrying 3,167,380 pieces of cigarettes, all branded Supermatch originating from South Sudan, were retrieved from the two hidden compartments.
The cigarettes, valued at Sh31.6 million and Sh18 million in taxes, were then seized together with the truck.
"Sunflower seedcake"
Earlier in December 2024, a multi-agency team led by KRA intercepted a consignment of 1,135 cartons of Supermatch cigarettes smuggled from Tanzania worth Sh113.5 million.
The uncustomed goods, declared at the border post as sunflower seedcake, originating from Tanzania, were intercepted on the Namanga-Kitengela highway in Kaijado County following an intelligence-led operation.
The cartons containing 5,675,000 sticks had a total tax implication of Sh95.5 million.
According to the acting commissioner of Investigations and enforcement Doreen Mbingi, there were 13cigarettes smuggling interceptions or recoveries either at the borders or at local markets since the start of July 2025, with a market value of Sh486 million and tax implication of Sh298.3 million.
Last week, KRA secured a conviction against a truck driver suspected of being involved in the disappearance of cigarettes worth Sh56 million.
A Malaba court found Charles Maina guilty and ordered him to pay a fine of Sh200,000 or serve two years' imprisonment in default.
A goods truck at the Kenya-Uganda’s Malaba border point.
Photo credit: FILE | NMG
Evidence tabled in court showed that in December 2023, two trucks were loaded with export cigarettes in Nairobi, all of them destined for South Sudan.
One of the trucks was loaded with 1,150 cartons. The trucks then embarked on the journey to Juba with a third vehicle, a Toyota Probox, escorting the goods.
Trucks transporting transit goods are subject to customs control by virtue of being exports and thus are armed with trackable customs seals to be removed at the border by Customs officials.
Transit goods are not taxed in Kenya as they are destined elsewhere, and they are under customs control to ensure they are not offloaded and sold in local markets.
The offenders are usually accused of ‘dumping’ the goods in the country. The offence they are charged with is interfering with goods subject to customs control contrary to section 203(f) of the East African Community Customs Management Act 2004.
As the trucks left Nairobi, one of the trucks allegedly developed a mechanical problem, but the one driven by Mr Maina proceeded with the journey.
At some point, Mr Erasto Muriuki, a former procurement manager at Mastermind Tobacco Company, who claimed to have dispatched the goods, said he could not reach the truck driver, as he had allegedly switched off his phone.
Mr Muriuki told the court that he tracked the vehicle until about 3 am the following day, before his mobile phone and that of the escort driver were switched off.
He said he could not know whether the consignment reached the Malaba border.
A cargo and monitoring officer with KRA realised that the last transmission was at the wee hours of the morning, about 2.7km from Leseru in Uasin Gishu County, after he received a call to assist in tracing some trucks. Leseru is about 106 km from the Malaba border.
By then, the customs electronic cargo seal, which is used to arm transit cargo and is supposed to be removed at the border by customs officials in a process called disarming, had been interfered with.
Ms Anne Maitho, an investigating officer at KRA, told the court that a lorry had been intercepted along the Webuye-Malaba road at Amagoro area.
She then proceeded to Amagoro and found the truck empty and seal missing. Ms Maitho then issued a seizure notice, and the truck was escorted to Malaba police station together with the escort vehicle.
Ms Maitho proceeded to compound taxes lost as Sh56.5 million and issued notices to the owner of the vehicle and informed them of the reason for the seizure as diversion of customs goods from the transit route and interfering with goods subject to customs control.
KRA headquarters at Times Tower, Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
In his defence, Maina claimed to have received instructions to divert the truck to an unknown location along Jua Kali road, where he witnessed the cargo being offloaded.
While convicting the driver, the court said there were inconsistencies in his defence, which undermined the credibility of his testimony and pointed to complicity rather than innocence.
“In light of the foregoing, the court finds the first accused person’s defence to be inconsistent, evasive, and lacking in credibility. His admission to witnessing the offloading of the cargo and tampering with the seal, yet proceeding with the journey and misleading the consignor, demonstrates clear knowledge and participation in the interference with goods under customs control,” said the court.
In November 2025, a Kakamega court sentenced Shadrack Chirchir Kogo to one year's imprisonment for conveying uncustomed goods contrary to the East Africa Community Customs Management Act.
The lorry driver was also ordered to forfeit cigarettes valued at Sh26.2 million, which had been smuggled from Burundi.
Mr Kogo, with two others who were later acquitted, were charged after 350 cartons each containing 5,000 sticks of Supermatch cigarettes and 40 bags of smuggled wheat bran chicken feeds manufactured in Burundi, were confiscated as they were being offloaded at a residential premise at Shuvumbe area in Kakamega on October 15, 2023.
The accused persons were arrested during an intelligence-led operation conducted by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and KRA officers in the residential premises, which were still under construction.
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