SOUTH African security agencies have in two separate incidents intercepted consignments of Zimbabwean-made cigarettes worth R9.5 million in the North West Province.
On June 25, a joint operation between South African Police Services (SAPS) and SA National Defence Forces (SANDF) netted the first and larger contraband worth R8 million and two days later another contraband worth R1.5 million was recovered at a farm in Zeerust about 240 kilometres west of Johannesburg in the same province.
"Continuous and joint efforts to address illicit economic activities gained success on Tuesday, 25 June 2024, when members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and police confiscated illicit cigarettes with an estimated street value of R8 million," the North West Province police spokesman Colonel Adele Myburgh said in a statement.
He said police responded to a June 25 call by SANDF members patrolling along the Botswana / South Africa borderline, near Makgobistad where they spotted a suspicious truck disabled by a flat tyre. When the SANDF members approached the truck, a man got off the truck, jumped the fence into Botswana and fled on foot.
"Upon searching the truck, illicit cigarettes were found and confiscated. Investigations into the matter are underway by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI)," said Myburgh.
In the second incident, a 55-year-old male suspect was arrested with illicit cigarettes after a follow-up on information received from a farmer who noticed suspicious activities at his farm in Zeerust on June 27 this year. That led to the recovery of illicit cigarettes worth R1.5 million.
"It is alleged that police responded to a call from a farmer who spotted an unmarked truck parked on his farm. The police approached the truck and found a male inside. Upon searching the truck, illicit cigarettes were found and the man was arrested while the truck and cigarettes were confiscated. The 55-year-old suspect will appear before the Zeerust Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 1 July 2024 " Myburgh said in another statement on Sunday.
The new development suggests that cigarette smugglers may have opened new routes through Botswana to smuggle Zimbabwean-made cigarettes into South Africa where they are in huge demand.
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