The arrest took place on Friday, March 6 when police received a tip off that there were three trucks being offloaded at Naauwpoort Plots.
The truck trucks being off loaded were reported to have entered the country from Mozambique.
The suspects were busy loading boxes from the Mozambican trucks to the South African ones when police intervened. It was then discovered that the boxes being loaded contained illegal cigarettes to an estimated value of R24-million.
Lt Col Frans Shayi, Const Kgotso Mojahi and Cons Solomon Khumalo were the members of police who intervened and stopped the illegal operation being carried out at Plot 224.
They arrested the three Mozambican and two South African drivers, who were charged with the possession of counterfeit goods.
According to one of the local truck drivers they were in Johannesburg, when they received a call to load tiles in eMalahleni.
On Monday, March 9 the five men appeared before Witbank Magistrate’s Court facing charges of possession and dealing in illicit cigarettes.
The two South African suspects, Johannes Kotze (46) and Moekotoi Motaung (37), and three Mozambican suspects, Zeferimo Bandeira (35), Fransisco Nhanombe (46) and Daudu Saule (57) are currently in custody awaiting their following court date after a postponement on March 9.
They are set to reappear on March 16 pending further investigation into the case.
“A joint investigation by police, SARS and state departments will see more arrests being made,” said Capt Eddie Hall, Witbank Police Communications.
According to the preliminary investigations the counterfeit cigarettes were en-route to Cape Town.
The trucks have been impounded at South African Revenue Services in Pretoria and the illegal cigarettes were sent to SARS depot to be destroyed.
According to police the two Mozambican drivers are legally in the country.
Maj Gen Wilson Kekana, Witbank SAPS cluster commander, praised Witbank Police members for their swift and professional reaction.
“Their dedication and investigation skills proved that the police are sending out a message to the organised crime syndicates that their days are numbered, they will be hunted down and forced to face the full extent of the law,” said Maj Gen Kekana.
