Posted on August, 24, 2018 at 09:07 am
By DERICK LUVEGA
Police in Mbale, Vihiga, Wednesday moved to stop the sale of suspected bad Pakistani rice in the town following public complaints.
The security officers impounded 39 bags of rice from a local dealer who was found repackaging the imported rice.
The rice was from the initial consignment of 58 50-kilo bags brought in through Mombasa, indicating that the dealer may have already sold some of it to unsuspecting buyers.
Police said they responded to public complaints and arrested the trader whose workers were repackaging the rice to disguise it as a local brand. Mbale OCPD Justin Nyagah, who did not reveal the identity of the dealer, said the commodity was brought into the county from Mombasa packaged as ‘Jambo’ in 50-kilo bags.
"We were alerted by members of the public and upon responding, we found the owner repackaging the rice for sale," said Mr Nyagah.
He said they had taken samples of the rice to the Government Chemist to check if it was fit for human consumption. "We are still waiting for results from the Government Chemist in Kisumu. The owner told us the rice was packaged in wrong bags but argues the rice is good for eating," Mr Nyagah said.
When the police arrived, workers were placing the rice in smaller carrier bags. All the 39 bags were stored at the main police station in Mbale, awaiting the lab test results. Police said the rice was imported from Karachi in Pakistan. The bags also had a standardisation mark of quality from the Kenya Bureau of Standards. Mr Nyagah said the owner was arrested and later released on bond pending investigations. The officer also clarified that any further action on the rice would depend on the findings of the lab tests. The arrest comes days after detectives reportedly netted a million bags of contraband rice in Mombasa. The commodity was also from Pakistan. Mr Nyagah said recent media reports of bad rice impounded in Mombasa aroused curiosity from members of the public who alerted the police.
"The rice is still suspect, that is why we released the owner on bond and took samples for testing. We can only arraign him based on the findings," said Mr Nyagah.
Source: Business Daily