Police in Embakasi have arrested two suspects for repackaging expired food and selling it to unsuspecting consumers in Nairobi.
According to Embakasi OCPD James Makau, the two were nabbed after a combined team of Nairobi County Government Health officials, Embakasi Police and DCI detectives on Thursday afternoon found the expired rice at the godown that has been trading as Kimende Stores in Kariobangi South, Nairobi.
The officers said they found several suspects repackaging the rice into new bags bearing expiry dates from June 2019 to 2021.
The consignment branded ‘Amar’ and ‘Day to Day’ was being packaged into new bags under the name ‘Red Rose’ and ‘Peacock Parboil Five Star’.
“What is happening within Nairobi, we have an outbreak of cholera and we are urging the Nairobians to be very keen when they go to eateries,” Ochieng said.
According to the county health chairman, the perpetrators use chemicals to do away with the shelf life of the product and then imprint their revised expiry dates, later offloading the goods to unsuspecting consumers.
“We are urging Nairobians to be very careful and also we are worried of the safety of Nairobians…as chair I’m urging the governor to do a reinforcement and to curb all the people who are selling generic products to wananchi,” said Ochieng.
On inspection, the business did not have the required documents for operation. The Embakasi OCPD said the owner of the godown is being pursued alongside three other suspects who managed to escape.
