Amina Kibirige
2 November 2007
Nairobi — A consignment of coffee destined for US has turned out to be no more than sand.
The consignment from Uganda was discovered after it reached Mombasa.
Sift Track Transporting Company had been contracted to move the three containers of 21 tonnes each from Kampala to Mombasa to be exported to United States. But when the containers reached Mombasa on board three trucks, the management sought to verify the contents, only to discover that the containers were stuffed with bags full of sand.
Police who were called in after the discovery said a similar incident had occurred earlier when a container of sand was shipped to the US.
An officer who led the investigations said one suspect, a loader, was in custody in Nairobi, and was helping with investigations.
According to one of the drivers who spoke to journalists on Thursday, his colleagues who had driven the trucks from Kampala handed over the vehicles in Nairobi, claiming they were too tired to complete the journey.
"I was not aware of what was going on. All I knew was that the consignment was coffee and I was asked to bring the goods to Mombasa," said Mr Robert Nduati.
According to him, the truck's loader was also recalled to Nairobi half way through the journey to Mombasa.
Driver fled
A police officer, who declined to be named, said the driver of the first truck fled immediately after the container's contents were discovered.
A third driver stopped at a petrol station in Mombasa and hired a part-time driver to complete the journey to Safi Forwarders.
Police also discovered fresh welding marks on the containers indicating that the coffee was removed through a hole in the container since the seals were still intact.
Managers at the affected company declined to answer questions from the Press and referred journalists to the police.
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