NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 8 – Sleuths from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations have seized at least 25,800 litres of adulterated diesel and 1,300 litres of petrol following an operation at a siphoning den within Nairobi’s Lungalunga area.
The DCI arrested 10 suspects during the crackdown on Tuesday which came after a series of complaints from motorists plying the route.
“The seizure and subsequent arrest of the suspects followed numerous complaints from motorists operating within Makadara sub-county regarding counterfeiting and distribution of adulterated fuel,” said the DCI.
The DCI further impounded four lorries, a pick up, siphoning materials, five generators, 108 drums and several 20 liter jerrycans when they raided a warehouse located along Rangwe road.
The agents detained the motor vehicles at the Lungalunga Police Station and secured the exhibits pending arraignment of the suspects at the Makadara Law Courts.
The sale of adulterated fuel has been on the rise in Kenya causing massive revenue losses in the country.
In June 2020, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Body (EPRA) released a list of service stations involved in selling adulterated fuel.
In a public notice dated June 30, EPRA stated that it had found eleven stations that were either selling diluted fuel or fuel meant for export over a period of three months from April to June 2021.
The regulator conducted the investigation in a total of 1,237 sites where 99 per cent were found to be compliant but 11 stations were non-compliant.
Adulterated fuel is one in which an inferior quality petroleum product has been added thereby contaminating and weakening it. The adulteration process mainly involves adding kerosene or diesel to petrol, with kerosene being the main adulterant due to its relatively low price.
