AFRICA: Kenyan authorities have successfully intercepted and impounded 55 cylinders of illegal R12 refrigerant at the port of Mombasa.
The seizure followed a routine random testing and analysis by the Kenyan customs. The cargo originated from Dubai and was imported in April by a Kenyan company based in Mombasa. While the company had an annual license from Kenya's National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to deal in controlled ODS, in this particular case the company had obtained a permit from NEMA to import R410A and R404A. However, upon random testing, one cylinder among the imported consignment was found to contain a quantity of banned R12.

Further tests conducted jointly by NEMA, Customs and the Environmental Police Unit revealed that all the 55 cylinders contained R12.

NEMA subsequently ordered the company to reship the consignment back to Dubai.