A pre-dawn police sweep in Kisumu has exposed an improvised alcohol storage site hidden in dense vegetation and led to the arrest of a suspect believed to control the operation. Acting on information from local residents, officers from Kisumu Central Police Station moved into the thicket on Sunday, July 20, 2025, where they discovered a sizeable cache of fermenting and distilled products associated with the production of illicit brews.
According to police, the team recovered 10 plastic jerricans, each estimated at 20 litres, alongside two 200-litre drums containing Kangara the fermented mash commonly distilled into the potent spirit chang’aa. Officers also found approximately five litres of finished chang’aa at the scene. The alcohol and raw materials were destroyed on site after documentation, part of an ongoing effort to disrupt informal brewing networks before the product reaches neighbourhood drinking dens.
Preliminary inquiries indicate the location functioned as a temporary holding and maturation point. Producers allegedly store Kangara in remote areas to reduce the risk of early detection, later transporting it to makeshift distillation set-ups or urban distribution points. Investigators are now tracing supply routes and possible links to wider distribution rings that have fueled recurrent public-health scares in western Kenya.
One suspect, believed to be the owner or custodian of the seized consignment, was arrested during the operation. He is expected to be presented before a Kisumu court on Monday, July 21, 2025, as inquiries continue. Additional arrests may follow as statements are recorded and forensic samples are analysed.
Police praised community vigilance, crediting the quick flow of information from residents for the operation’s success. Authorities urged the public to continue reporting suspicious brewing, transport of chemical additives, unexplained night-time gatherings in wooded areas, and sudden illness clusters that could signal toxic alcohol circulation. Such early warnings, officers noted, help prevent injury, safeguard families, and reinforce the broader national campaign against illicit brews.
The bust comes amid renewed national efforts to stamp out unregulated alcohol following a series of enforcement drives ordered by interior authorities across multiple counties this year. County administrations have been under pressure to map supply chains, license compliant producers, and shut down unsafe operations that often use industrial chemicals or poorly fermented mash. Health officials repeatedly warn that consumption of uncertified spirits can cause blindness, organ failure, or death. Residents in Kisumu pledged continued cooperation with law enforcement.
