Counterfeit EA cables worth sh 50M intercepted in Mombasa

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The Coast Regional coordinator of the Kenya Revenue Authority Nicholas Kinoti ( In glasses) together with other offficers displaying the contraband cables PHOTO JANET MURIKIRA

Mombasa,KENYA:A multi agency team consisting of officers from the Kenya revenue Authority, Kenya Bureau of standards and the Anti counterfeit agency have intercepted fake cables purporting to have been manufactured by East African cables limited.

The cables whose origin is China entered into the country through the port of Mombasa where they had been declared as consolidated goods.

According to the Kenya Revenue Authority Nicholas Kinoti the cables were impounded between 21st and 31 may through three CFS in Mombasa.

“ This three containers got into the country through three container freight stations mainly Consol Base, Autoport and Portside” Kinoti said on Friday.

Kinoti added that  5 people who include the importers and their clearing agent had been arraigned in court over the contraband goods.

However the owner of one of the containers is still on the run.

Kinoti added that the cables would be destroyed once they have been used as court exhibits.

The multi-agency team set up to fight contraband goods in the country have stepped up the fight for with several intercepted goods including foodstuff being destroyed over the past month.

NSE listed East Africa cables has for the past few years been losing billions in revenue due to counterfeits mostly imported from China.

This prompted the company to introduce a product verification system in 2013.

On Thursday the company’s CEO Paul Muigai said the firm had written to foreign affairs CS Amb. Monica Juma to request her to diplomatically engage China so that they could get rid of the cables.

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