Drama ensued in a village in Ahero, Kisumu County, after officers from the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) raided and dismantled a sophisticated counterfeit alcohol syndicate in the area.
The NACADA officers, leading a multi-agency operation, were met with brutal force from a group of goons who had been mobilised. The goons resorted to using crude weapons including stones to unsuccessfully try and prevent the officers from seizing the counterfeit alcohol haul.
Fortunately, the raid — which targeted premises operated by a “notoriously untouchable” figure in the county — yielded thousands of litres of illicit alcohol. Another simultaneous raid in one of the suspect’s residences also unearthed a warehouses containing thousands of empty plastic bottles and unlabelled packaging cartons signalling a major counterfeiting syndicate.
The contraband included vast quantities of falsely branded spirits and another significant haul of seemingly Ugandan-manufactured liquor illegally packaged in unlabelled 250ml plastic sachets.
What happened?
The operation turned chaotic when the primary suspect arrived and attempted to forcibly storm the secured premises. According to NACADA officers on the ground, the individual mobilised a gang that pelted the security team with stones, attempting to obstruct the recovery of the illicit goods. The officers, however, held their positions firmly, allowing the meticulous operation to continue unimpeded.
According to NACADA, intelligence reports indicate the individual is a major player in the region’s illicit trade, long considered above the law due to his purported deep connections to influential societal and political figures. Today’s raid sends a clear message that such protection no longer holds.
In a stern statement following the operation, NACADA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Anthony Omerikwa declared the raid part of a renewed, uncompromising war on drugs and substance abuse. “This discovery is a direct result of our sustained intelligence-led operations. Let this be a warning to all those peddling poison under the guise of being powerful and untouchable. They will fall, and they will fall hard,” Dr. Omerikwa asserted.
He added a severe warning for the suspect: “All applicable laws, including those allowing for the confiscation of assets acquired through such criminal enterprise, will be invoked to the fullest extent. He will pay for his crimes, and his property will be possessed by the state.”
This high-octane raid comes hot on the heels of another major NACADA operation in Ahero just yesterday (Tuesday, January 20), where officers netted cannabis worth an estimated KSh4 million from a residential den located alarmingly opposite Ahero Girls High School, highlighting the brazenness of traffickers.
Dr. Omerikwa confirmed that these sustained, back-to-back operations mark a strategic upscaling of NACADA’s offensive. “This is in strict alignment with the Presidential directive to intensify the fight against drug abuse across the nation. We are moving into every hotspot, without fear or favour,” he stated.
The scene at the raid site, littered with shattered counterfeit bottles and piles of seized sachets, stands as a stark testament to the scale of the trade and the new determination to crush it. As the suspect awaits processing, the community watches, hopeful that the era of the “untouchables” in Kisumu County is finally coming to a decisive end.
The confiscated alcohol will be stored in a KRA safe house awaiting further verification and analysis as the prosecution process kicks off.
