Border security in Kwale County has been directed to crackdown on smuggling syndicates in the coastal county along the common border with neighbouring countries.

Area County Commissioner Stephen Orinde warned to those smuggling sugar through the porous border points with neighbouring Tanzania. Orinde says the security agencies have put in place watertight measures to clampdown on smuggling of products especially sugar from Tanzania into the coastal region.

Orinde says smuggling syndicates disrupt the local economy by undermining legitimate businesses and eroding public trust in regulatory systems.

He said police will intensify cross border security operations and warned those involved in the smuggling syndicates will face the full force of the law.

The senior administrator underscored that smuggling of sugar and other goods into the country results in loss of billions of shillings in taxes, terming those behind it as ‘economic saboteurs’.

“We are investigating some cross border traders who do not want to pay taxes and are behind the smuggling rackets in Lunga Lunga Sub-County,” he said.

The order by the county commissioner comes in the backdrop of seizures of counterfeit, contraband and smuggled goods such as sugar, maize flour, rice and edible oil in the region by the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA).

Orinde who is also Chairman of County Security and Intelligence Committee (CSIC) promised swift action to combat smuggling by deploying a multiagency border team to intercept smuggled goods.

“We are committed to dismantling the black-market economy and apprehend all those involved in smuggling and illegal cross border trade,” Orinde said.

ACA coast regional coordinator Ibrahim Bulle says counterfeit and contraband goods have flooded markets and blamed the porous border with Tanzania for the phenomenon.

He said recent reports reveal that unscrupulous traders are bringing in large quantities of sugar through Kwale borders and selling it in local markets without paying taxes. Bulle says this illicit activity is negatively impacting the local economy, businesses and communities.

He said early this month a multi-agency team seized counterfeit cooking oil from a depot in Mombasa which have been traced to Kwale county villages bordering Tanzania.

The senior ACA official has warned that smuggling activities if not checked could result in significant revenue losses for the government and create unfair competition for legitimate businesses.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Hussein Abdullahi and Rachael Nzioki