A multi-agency team comprising detectives from the Economic & Commercial Crimes Unit and officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Tuesday impounded an illicit consignment of cigarettes worth over Sh32 million.

The consignment, which included over 20,000 packets of popular cigarette brands Supermatch and Palma Safari, was confiscated by an undercover team posing as prospective buyers at a residential house located along Riara Road, close to Shra Engineering in Kahawa West, Nairobi County.

Additionally, the team recovered various counterfeit stamps from the KRA and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), as well as empty cigarette cartons labelled British American Tobacco (BAT), Kenya and Supermatch.


A single suspect, identified as Veronicah Njeri Kariuki, was taken into custody and detained at Muthaiga police station, where she is currently helping detectives with investigations before being arraigned in court.

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The total tax revenue lost due to the smuggled cigarettes is estimated to be around Sh18 million.