Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti has hinted at how his sleuths work closely with Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers to crackdown on cartels at the Times Towers.

Kinoti said cartels previously hovered around Times Towers, the KRA headquarters, colluding with some officials at the revenue agency to abet tax evasion and facilitate access to services through bribery and graft.

He said joint efforts between DCI detectives and KRA has successfully managed to plug leakages that have cost the country billions of shillings in tax revenues. He praised detectives attached to KRA for their effectiveness in sealing some of the loopholes exploited by unscrupulous individuals to evade paying taxes.

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“Since we started collaborating with KRA and attached our officers to KRA, the country’s revenue base has been on the rise. We have recorded significant progress,” Kinoti stated.

Kinoti disclosed that before the crackdown, KRA consistently missed its targets in the last few years in what is believed to be a result of theft, cheating in the declaration of returns, corruption, collusion and soliciting bribes from tax cheats.

He disclosed how at some point, they attached detectives disguised as interns and junior staff to spy on KRA bosses and relay the relevant information to the investigating officers.

He said he is determined to second more detectives to State corporations to contain fraud, corruption, theft through false pretence and other criminal activities.

The country’s top detective was speaking at the Kenya Police Logistics Centre in Ruaraka, Nairobi during a ceremony to celebrate promotions of  some officers to senior ranks.

Some of those who had been promoted included the head of Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau Peter Mbusya Mumo who has been upgraded to Assistant Inspector General (AIG), head of Special Services Unit (SSU) Pius Gitari (Commissioner of Police) and head of Fichua Uhalifu David Chebii, Kinoti’s Personal Assistant Lawrence Some, the officer in charge of investigations at KRA Justus Imana and deputy director of operations at DCI Samwel Bett.