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Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has seized counterfeit goods worth Sh16 million over the last six months in Western Kenya, a top official said yesterday.

KRA Western Kenya regional coordinator Pamela Ahago said the counterfeits were recovered in recent operations particularly conducted at the Isebania area in Migori county and Bumala in Busia county.

She said the agency is concerned about infiltration of counterfeit goods in the Western region, and called for concerted efforts to deal with the vice.

Ahago decried attacks of KRA officers by suspected smugglers while in the line of duty at Isebania and Bumala areas, and urged the police to reinforce their security.

“We are concerned about the counterfeits that come through our borders and those which come from the manufacturers.

We have established that these products are not fit for human consumption hence the need to confiscate them,” she said during the launch of the Rapid Results Initiative against contraband goods in Nyanza region.

Officers warned

Nyanza Regional Commissioner Magu Mutindika said the multi-agency team led crackdown aims to wipe out counterfeit products to ensure safety of the residents.

Mutindika stated that in the operation that runs for the next 35 days, they will be working with technical teams including National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse, KRA, Kenya Bureau of Standards and Anti-counterfeit Agency to eliminate contraband goods.

The crackdown, he said, seeks to establish the origin of the products and their manufacturers.

The regional chief regretted that most products which find their way into the country do not meet the required standards, thereby putting lives of Kenyans at risk.

He said such products in some instances have ended up causing health and social problems in the society.

“Our focus is on substandard and counterfeit alcoholic drinks. Over time, there has been a lot of accumulation of some products which are not fit for human consumption and this RRI crackdown seeks to eliminate such,” Mutindika said. He warned against complicity among officers during the exercise.