This archive report was first published on 29 October 2021.
Kenya: Egg Smuggler Leads Police on 50-Kilometre Highway Chase ¶
On Tuesday evening, police in Homa Bay County seized a lorry that was transporting 7,800 crates of eggs worth Sh2.7 million from Uganda. The driver, however, led the police on a dramatic 50-kilometre chase before being apprehended.
The vehicle, with a Kenyan registration number plate, was seized at Mbita Town when its driver tried to evade customs and Immigration offices. Detectives established that the lorry came from Uganda to Kenya illegally, prompting the driver to dodge security officers.
According to Homa Bay County Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) boss, Mr Abed Kavoo, the driver used shortcuts to get into the county. He moved from Uganda to Siaya and took a ferry across Lake Victoria to Mbita town, avoiding the usual route used by most vehicles transporting goods from Uganda to Homa Bay.
"There was suspicious activity from the moment the ferry got on land. The driver ignited the engine and started moving out of the water vessel without clearance," Mr Kavoo said.
After speeding past a roadblock at Kodoyo Junction, the driver was eventually stopped at Rodi Kopany Trading centre, where the vehicle was deflated by firing guns at the tyres. The driver jumped out and ran off to nearby bushes to escape capture, but two people from the lorry fled into the bush, including the driver and possibly his assistant.
It took police officers two days to count all 7,800 crates of eggs, with the help of more than five inmates from Homa Bay GK prison. The vehicle and the eggs are currently at a police station and will be used in court as exhibits.
