Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested two suspects in connection with operating a counterfeit juice factory at a homestead in Kabete, Kiambu County. 

In a statement on Thursday, October 1, DCI said the operation followed a tip-off from a member of the public who reported suspicious activities at the homestead. 

Detectives from Kabete Police Station swiftly responded to the tip-off and caught the two suspects, Alex Mwaruta and James Munala Inyangala red-handed while producing counterfeit juice. 

“What looked like an ordinary homestead in Muthua, Kabete, was being used as a clandestine juice factory, until a vigilant member of the public blew the whistle.

“Acting on the information, detectives from Kabete Police Station responded swiftly. At the homestead, they found two men, Alex Mwaruta and James Munala Inyangala, in the middle of producing counterfeit juice. Both were arrested on the spot,” DCI stated. 

 The detectives conducted a search at the homestead and recovered approximately 1,400 filled 200ml and 300ml bottles of suspected counterfeit juice, 56 cartons of empty bottles and five packets of bottle tops.

They also recovered two blue drums and three basins of different colors, which were allegedly being used in the production process.

“Detectives recovered approximately 1,400 filled 200ml and 300ml bottles of suspected counterfeit juice, alongside 56 cartons of empty bottles, five packets of bottle tops, two blue drums and three assorted-colour basins,” DCI said. 

The officers further seized office glue, rubber stamps and ink, assorted stickers, an expired certificate authorizing the use of the Standardization Mark for a well-known juice brand, assorted powdery and colorless substances packed in polythene bags in 50-gram portions and in 200ml and 300ml bottles.

The scene was subsequently processed by detectives from the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), while the recovered items were secured as exhibits.

The two suspects are in police custody as investigations into the clandestine juice factory continue.

This comes weeks after detectives arrested 7 suspects after raiding a godown in Canaan area near Infinity Industrial Park in Kasarani Sub-County, uncovering an alleged counterfeit maize flour repackaging operation. 

In a statement, the agency said the operation followed intelligence received by detectives concerning a racket suspected of flooding the Kenyan market with counterfeit maize flour products. 

The DCI said the raid exposed a large-scale operation involving the repackaging and redistribution of maize flour using fake labels designed to deceive consumers.

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According to investigators, the godown had allegedly been converted into a covert facility where different maize flour brands were repackaged and redistributed using labels resembling those of genuine products.

"Investigations established that the godown had been transformed into a covert factory of fraud, where assorted maize flour brands were being illegally repackaged and redistributed under fake labelling, deceiving unsuspecting consumers into buying products that were not what they claimed to be," the statement added.

According to the DCI, those arrested include Felix Kiprop, an employee of SARA Flour Brand, and Cynthia Nakoli, a salesperson attached to the same brand.

Also arrested were loaders Joseph Kariuki and Victor Omondi Opiyo, driver Daniel Ngugi, as well as Maria Ngui and Samuel Kimilu, who were apprehended at the scene as detectives dismantled the operation.

During the raid, detectives recovered 3,682 packets of a popular corn maize flour brand valued at approximately Ksh312,120.

Hundreds of packets bearing three other well-known flour brands were also recovered, pushing the total value of the suspected counterfeit products into the hundreds of thousands of shillings.