R1m worth of illegal cigarettes from Zimbabwe seized
Two foreign nationals were arrested after police discovered thousands of cartons of illegal cigarettes in a truck at warehouse premises in Brackenfell, outside Cape Town, Western Cape police said on Thursday.
“Last [Wednesday] night members attached to the Western Cape K9 unit responded to information of a safari tour truck that had crossed the Zimbabwean border into SA the previous day and was en-route to the Brackenfell industrial area allegedly transporting illegal goods,” police spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut, said in a statement.
“At approximately 20:30 the members entered a warehouse in Silver Park, Okavango, Brackenfell where they found the truck and two suspects.”
When officers searched the truck, they found a false compartment under the luggage storage area filled with illegal cigarettes.
“A toilet in the warehouse also contained numerous boxes filled with cartons of illegal cigarettes,” Traut said.
“The 4600 cartons have an estimated value of R1 million.”
A Zimbabwean man, 39, and a Jordanian national, 30, who had been residing in South Africa for the past eight years, was arrested.
They were expected to make a court appearance soon. -ANA
(File Photo: Gallo Images)