KeNHA and the Police have unveiled a 24 hour surveillance and operations team to crack down on rogue trucks that destroy road surfaces.
The reinvigorated team has been boosted by DCI and intelligence operatives in the grey overloading zones of Machakos, Kitui and Embu counties, where sand trucks overload with impunity.
At the same time, KeNHA has enlisted the support of the NTSA to trace lorries that are using forced registration numbers.
This comes as the Treasury set aside Sh.182.5 billion for building roads, in the next financial year.
`Unless we protect road surfaces from these crooks who destroy them, taxpayers will lose all the bundreds of billions invested in road construction`, said SSP John Gichuhi, the officer incharge of the operation.
Gichuhi said four teams, all led by senior police officers have been formed to deal with the overloading cartels.
For the last one week, the team descended on overloading merchants in Masinga, Matuu, Yatta, Embu and Meru.
Scores of lorry owners and their crews were arrested and fined.
At the same time, Gichuhi has called for imposition of maximum fines on offenders to ensure that the menace is delt with decisively.
He said the Judiciary has been supporting In meting out justice but said stiffer penalties are necxesary if the cartels are to be delt with firmly.
He regretted that the cartels are now bold enough to even attack armed police officers in a bid to provoke the law enforcers into retaliation.
He warned that his officers will no longer act as by standers and gave the cartels a one week ultimatum to comply or face stiffer sanctions.
The Police Force Standing Orders permitted gazetted officers to reprimand, caution and warn first time offenders on non serious offences.
Gichuhi said the operations will be supported by surveillance teams, based on intelligence and other logistics.
He said the teams are operating countywide and are backed by multi agency logistical support.
It is estimated that the Government has spent more than Sh.300billion in constructing roads in the last 10 years.
These roads are however being threatened by overloading.
Destruction of road surfaces is to blame for increased maintenance costs, which in turn increases the cost of doing business
