Limpopo SAPS, farmers nab smugglers after high speed chase
Two men were arrested after a tip-off by farmers in the Saamboubrug area.
LIMPOPO – Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has complimented the collaboration between the police, rural safety structures as well as Young Civilians on Patrol (YCOP), following the arrest of two men.
They were arrested at around 05:00 yesterday (January 18) following a high-speed car chase, said police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo.
In a statement, he explained that police in the Saamboubrug policing area received a tip-off by local farmers about two bakkies that were travelling from Musina towards Saamboubrug using the Alldays road.
“The tip-off indicated that illicit cigarettes were being transported. A snap operation was conducted by the local police, assisted by farmers, at the Maasstroom crossroad with the intention of stopping and searching the vehicles. Police attempted to stop the two vehicles but they did not comply and they sped off at high speed using the road that leads to Tolwe policing area,” he explained.
Mojapelo said a car chase ensued with the assistance from the farmers and Tolwe Police. “They managed to stop one vehicle that was fully loaded with illicit cigarettes and one male suspect was arrested on the spot. The other driver abandoned his vehicle that was also loaded with illicit cigarettes and ran into the nearby bushes on foot to evade arrest. He was later found hiding in the bushes and arrested,” he added.
Illicit cigarettes with an estimated value of R667 326 were found in the two motor vehicles and confiscated.
“The suspects, aged 35 and 41, are expected to appear before the Senwabarwana Magistrate’s Court soon to face possession and smuggling of illicit cigarettes charges. Police investigations into the origin of these illicit cigarettes and their destination are continuing,” he concluded.
