BUNGOMA, Kenya — A trader was today arraigned before the Bungoma Magistrate’s Court following a high-impact multi-agency operation led by multi-agency enforcement teams that dismantled an illicit sugar repackaging syndicate in Bukembe, Bungoma County, seizing counterfeit sugar and materials valued at nearly KES 1 million.

​The suspect, Paul Mwangi, was apprehended after enforcement officers raided his godown facility located south of Bukembe Shopping Centre. The operation yielded 98 50kg bags of sugar falsely branded as West Valley Sugar, along with 1,700 empty 50kg sacks carrying identical counterfeit artwork and logos intended for repackaging uncustomed sugar into the local market.

ACA inspectors in collaboration with detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Operations Support Unit, the raid forms part of an intensified multi-agency drive against counterfeit trade across the Western and Nyanza regions. Technical verification conducted on-site by West Valley Sugar representative, Kipsanaya Sumukwo, confirmed that the seized packaging materials were unauthorized imitations of their registered trademark.

​Reaffirming the enforcement momentum, Tom Muteti, ACA Regional Manager for the Western and Nyanza Regions, noted that joint intelligence operations are dealing heavy blows to illicit trade networks.

​"This operation underscores our firm resolve as the lead agency driving multi-agency enforcement against illicit trade across the Western and Nyanza regions," said Tom Muteti, ACA Regional Manager.

"Repackaging uncustomed sugar under protected Kenyan trade names is a direct fraud against consumers and legitimate enterprise. By removing nearly KES 1 million worth of illicit sugar and packaging materials from the market in a single strike, we are shutting down these syndicates from the source and ensuring firm court prosecution."

​All seized sugar and empty sacks have been formally inventoried and secured under official ACA seizure protocols as court exhibits. Multi-agency enforcement teams have expanded surveillance across key trading corridors in Western Kenya and the Nyanza belt to track down suppliers of raw uncustomed sugar and fake packaging.

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