Multi-agency teams make 12,443 arrests in the fight against illicit brews

Authorities have apprehended 12,443 people and shut down 9,269 non-compliant joints within 3 weeks in a nationwide crackdown on alcohol and drug abuse.
Data released by the Ministry of Interior and National Administration (MINA) indicates that multi-agency teams, including police and the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), conducted 25,219 raids countrywide between 8 and 31 March.
The raids formed part of the government’s 25-point enforcement programme to combat illicit alcohol and drug abuse, announced on 6 March by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki.
During the period, authorities seized at least 1.4 million litres of illicit brews during operations that also saw the netting of 46, 273 litres of counterfeit and uncustomed alcohol.
Multi-agency teams seized at least 2,559 litres of illegal ethanol.
Shisha ban
The operation also targeted shisha joints across the country resulting in the closure of 150 outlets.
The closure of the Shisha outlets came even as a Mombasa court overturned the ban on shisha declaring it unconstitutional.
Shanzu Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Joe Mkutu overturned the ban noting there exists no valid or lawful prohibition on the use, production, sale, or offer for sale of shisha in the country.
In its efforts to implement the directives aimed at addressing the scourge of alcohol and drug abuse, the government Friday extended the suspension of twenty four manufacturers and distillers of second-generation alcohol over non-compliance following fresh vetting of their operations.
CS Kindiki said the distillers will remain suspended until they satisfactorily address the compliance issues cited within twenty one days effective Monday, 18 April.
The entities affected include: Keroche Breweries Limited, Two Cousins Distillers Limited, Corobus Africa Products Limited, Lyniber Supplies Limited, Elle Kenya Limited, Zheng Hong (K) Limited, Rift Valley Brewing Company – Thika, Africa Spirit Limited, and Manchester Distillers Limited.
“The specific areas of non-compliance and the twenty-one (21) day notice to comply will be relayed to each of the affected entities, on Monday, 8 April, 2024, through the Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration, with copies to all relevant government agencies for supervision of this directive,” Kindiki said.
The vetting was conducted on a total of twenty nine active manufacturers and distillers.
National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSHS), the Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA), the Public Health Department, the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), and the Department of Weights and Measures conducted the vetting process.
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