Multi-agency teams led by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) have dismantled two major counterfeit alcohol operations in coordinated dawn raids in Mombasa and Nairobi, seizing large volumes of suspected illicit products and arresting key suspects.
The synchronised crackdown began early morning in Kongowea, Mombasa County, where officers targeted four outlets and the residence of a man described by authorities as a key figure in the county’s illicit alcohol trade.
The operation uncovered hundreds of thousands of litres of suspected counterfeit alcohol, some bearing Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) excise stamps that failed verification, while others were fraudulently labelled as different legitimate products.
NACADA Chief Executive Officer Anthony Omerikwa said the suspect’s residence, raided following detailed intelligence and prolonged undercover surveillance, shares a boundary with Kongowea Primary School.
“It is utterly shocking that a counterfeiting hub is located next to a school and within a residential area,” he said.
“This signals the desperate tactics being adopted by these criminals following sustained government pressure and seizures in line with the Presidential directive on the renewed fight against alcohol and drug abuse.”
Authorities said all four outlets targeted in Mombasa were operating without valid liquor licences.
At the same time, a separate NACADA-led operation involving the National Police Service (NPS) and KRA was carried out along Kirinyaga Road in Nairobi’s Central Business District.
Acting on complaints from legitimate brand owners, officers raided a major distributor and arrested one suspect.
During the Nairobi raid, officers recovered 7,352 bottles of assorted suspected counterfeit alcoholic brands, each measuring 250 millilitres, equivalent to 312 cartons.
The suspect was detained at Jogoo Road Police Station, while the seized products were secured by KRA at a warehouse along Mombasa Road.
NACADA said the twin operations reflect an intensified national crackdown on illicit alcohol, driven by intelligence-led enforcement and inter-agency collaboration.
Officials noted that the Mombasa raid in particular exposed the growing boldness of counterfeit networks, with operations increasingly embedded in residential neighbourhoods and near learning institutions in an effort to evade detection.
NACADA reaffirmed its commitment to working with security and regulatory agencies to protect public health from the dangers posed by counterfeit and unregulated alcoholic products.
