Illegal cigarettes found

POLOKWANE – The police recovered cigarettes worth more than R1 million and arrested six suspects in three separate incidents recently.

Col Ronél Otto, a provincial police spokesperson, said this was the largest cigarette bust in Limpopo.

In the first incident, two suspects were arrested in Maake after they robbed a representative from a tobacco company twice in a week while delivering cigarettes. “We received information and with further investigation and the assistance of a security company, two suspects were arrested and cigarettes to the value of more than R500 000, as well as an unlicensed firearm was confiscated,” Otto said.

The suspects appeared before the Naphuno magistrate’s court on a charge of armed robbery last Wednesday and the case was remanded to November 3 for a formal bail application.

In another incident, three men were arrested in connection with the possession and transport of illegal cigarettes at Musina.

“Further investigation revealed that one of the suspects is on bail for a similar offence committed in Seshego earlier this year,” Otto confirmed.

“Members of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) were patrolling the borderline when they stopped a suspicious looking vehicle and conducted a search. The officials discovered illegal cigarettes to the value of R200 000 and contacted the police who arrested the suspects,” Otto said.

The men, aged 28, 29 and 25 appeared before the Musina magistrate’s court yesterday (Wednesday) and the case was postponed to later next week for a formal bail application.

At the Groblersbrug Border Post the police arrested a man in his late 20s for the possession and transport of illegal cigarettes to the value of R500 000 and possession of stolen vehicle on Monday morning.

The man appeared before the Mokopane magistrate’s court and the case was remanded to October 30.

“Further investigations also revealed that the vehicle the man was using was reported stolen from Welgelegen in June,” Otto said.