How KRA Foiled Tax Evasion Schemes Worth Over Ksh19 Million

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has cracked down on a sensational tax evasion attempt, seizing goods valued at more than Ksh46 million in two separate multi-agency operations.
From the operations which were carried out in Kirinyaga and Uasin Gishu counties, the taxman averted a potential tax loss of over Ksh19 million.
The operations were conducted jointly with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the National Police Service (NPS) and saw the recovery of contraband cigarettes in Kienjaa village in Kirinyaga County.
According to KRA, 95 cartons were recovered containing 254 packs of cigarettes whose total value was estimated to be Ksh29,254,000.
The seizure of the packs effectively averted a tax loss of Ksh8,611,831.20, including Ksh3,931,191.20 in Excise Duty and Ksh4,680,640 in Value Added Tax (VAT).
In a separate incident in Ngeria, Eldoret, a KRA-led multi-agency team raided an illegal alcohol manufacturing facility, confiscating goods and materials worth Ksh17,038,450.
The goods included 24,000 counterfeit excise stamps, over 600 bottles of branded and unbranded alcohol, approximately 100 litres of pure and blended ethanol, 260 illicit cigarette sticks, counterfeit labels, empty bottles, and large containers used in illegal manufacturing.
In suppressing the unlawful operations in Eldoret, KRA prevented tax losses of up to Ksh10,790,933.56. A suspect has since been apprehended and is in police custody.
The authority reaffirmed that the operations are part of ongoing efforts to eliminate illicit trade and safeguard government revenue.
In a similar case towards the end of August 2025, a court ordered the forfeiture of a seven-tonne Mitsubishi Fuso truck and 8,000 litres of smuggled ethanol worth Ksh5 million in taxes to KRA after a tax-evasion case involvingcross-border smuggling of goods from Tanzania.
The ruling was delivered by Taveta Principal Magistrate Eugene Kadima, who found that the vehicle was under instructions to carry uncustomed goods, which breaches the East African Community Customs Management Act of 2004.
The two individuals involved are a truck driver and aTanzanian national, believed to have been a hitchhiker.