Police in Nakuru have seized 80 bags of expired fertilizer transported from Fertiplant East Africa Limited in a canter lorry of registration number KCP 276X.
According to a police report, the officers, who were acting on intelligence, rushed to the scene and found the lorry loaded with 80 bags of single Superphosphate fertilizer (SSP) with the expiry date indicated as March 2018.
“Preliminary investigations established that the 80 bags of 50 kgs fertilizer from MEA factory in Nakuru was dispatched by the caretaker Mr John Kamau to Williamson Tea in Kericho,” reads part of the report.
Williamson Tea after verification returned the consignment to MEA factory in Nakuru since the fertilizer had its expiry date indicated on the bag as March 2018.”
The fertilizer was seized and transported to Kaptembwa police station to be kept as an exhibit.
Meanwhile, John Kamau Mungai, who authorized the release of the consignment from the MEA factory, has since been arrested.
This comes a few days after Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) agents in Trans-Nzoia have detained three suspects along the Kitale-Endebess road. The suspects had 739 bags of stolen fertilizer valued at Kes 1.8 million.
Speaking in a statement on Tuesday, DCI revealed that its agents attached to the Operations Support Unit (OSU) arrested Ali Abdi Fatah, Abdi Jabar Hussein, and Bonface Ouma Awili at a cereal store in Matisi market.
Further, DCI said the fertilizer included 424 bags of Falcon CAN, 43 bags of Tupande, 98 bags of Mavuno, and 71 50kg of KEL Green NPK.
The agents also recovered 20 bags of NPSB-OCP, four bags of DAP-OCP, 26 bags of FOMI OTESHA, 34 bags of Simba Urea, 16 bags of FALCON Ammonia Sulphate, and a 50 kg bag of NAFAKA Plus.
The DCI said the suspects had delivery notes from National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots in Kitale, Malaba, Moi’s Bridge, Isiolo, and Maua.