Murang'a police raid avocado-painting crime ring after viral video

After a woman went viral exposing shady avocado tricks being used by a section of dubious Murang'a traders, authorities have now moved in and the culprits have been brought to book.

On Tuesday, July 11, police officers from Murang'a County apprehended several traders from Kaharati market for selling painted avocados to unsuspecting buyers.

The trick involves cleverly painting unripe or rotten avocados purple to hoodwink the normally-busy buyer into thinking that they are in great condition and will be ripe soon.

As most buyers don't leave their cars to inspect the products they're buying, it then becomes easy to sell them corrupted avocados sparkling in purple under the hot Murang'a sun.

The Hass avocado, a variety of a small-sized avocado with dark green, bumpy skin, is the most commonly used type of avocado in the area.

In a video shared by a popular Instagram gossip channel, an elderly man is seen being paraded in front of the police and members of the public as an official in a suit claims that he's the man behind the avocado-painting racket.

'Tunataka Wakenya waone ule ambaye anahuskika kwa hiyo maneno. Na sio avocado tu, pia kuna ndizi ambayo rangi yake inaonyesha yameiva, kumbe yamedungwa sindano na kemikali," a police officer told a gathered crowd.

Last October, Murang'a avocados made it to the news after farmers claimed that they were reeling in losses as thieves continued to raid their farms.

The farmers said the theft led to wastage as thieves who stole mostly at night or in a hurry ended up harvesting immature fruits.

Murang’a is the largest producer of avocados in the country, with Kenya being the sixth largest producer in the African continent.