Officers from the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) have seized 1.7 tonnes of banned plastic bags in Mombasa.
Nema Mombasa boss Stephen Wambua says the 8.5 million pieces of polythene bags were sneaked into the country from Tanzania by a suspect who has since gone missing.
“But police have launched manhunt for the suspect. He imported the banned consignment into the country,” Wambua says.
The officers impounded the bags after receiving a tip off that the consignment was being ferried into the country from Tanzania on Sunday morning.
“We impounded 17 bales of plastic bags which were found to have been offloaded from a Simba Coach bus registration number KBU 343C at the Simba Coach Offices at Mwembe tayari. Each bale is estimated to contain over 500,000 pieces,” Wambua says.
The owner of the plastic bags, only identified as Mr Issa, escaped.
“The 17 bales are at the Central Police Station and efforts are being made to arrest the importer of the banned plastic bags.”
Wambua has issued a warning to traders against use of banned plastic bags, saying that stiff penalties will be imposed on them.
Some traders continue to use plastic bags to wrap goods for their customers more than a year since the ban took effect in August, 2017. The bags are mostly illegally imported into the country from neighboring countries that are yet to impose bans on them.
