A joint operation by the Hawks’ Nelspruit-based serious commercial crime investigation unit, crime intelligence, and SA Revenue Service’s customs and excise has led to the arrest of a 45-year-old Bangladeshi national and the confiscation of illicit cigarettes worth an estimated R1.5 million.
Provincial spokesperson for the Hawks in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, said the suspect, who is in South Africa as a temporary asylum seeker, was arrested on Thursday in West Acres, Nelspruit, after authorities followed up on intelligence about illegal cigarette trading.
“Master boxes containing different brands of illicit cigarettes were recovered in the Bangladeshi national’s supermarket,” said Nkosi.
“The foreign national could neither produce proof of purchase nor proof of tax duties. He was charged with contravention of the Customs and Excise Act of South Africa, possession, distribution, and selling illicit cigarettes.”
The Bangladeshi national is expected to appear before the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
Meanwhile, Mpumalanga provincial head of the Hawks, Major General Nico Gerber, has commended the operation, saying: “The country is losing revenue due to illicit products that are illegally smuggled and sold in the Republic of South Africa. We commend the teamwork that resulted in this major breakthrough.”
In September, reported that five members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were released on bail after they appeared before the Musina Magistrate’s Court on charges related to illicit cigarette smuggling.
Their two co-accused, both undocumented Zimbabwean nationals, were found hiding at the military base where the smuggling operation took place.
Limpopo regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said the five soldiers are Macdonald Tshabadira, 28; Waydon Peterson, 29; Khuliso Tshivhenga, 42; Khodani Abel Maphukhumela, 29; and Evah Mmaphuthi Modisa, 39.
Each was granted bail of R5,000.
Their two co-accused, Livhuwani Mutavhatsindi, 27, and Perfious Chauke, 27, were remanded in custody without bail. The Zimbabwean nationals also face charges under the Immigration Act.
Malabi-Dzhangi said the group faces charges of possession of illicit cigarettes, possession of ammunition, and defeating the ends of justice.
The arrests on September 16, followed an incident at the Artonvilla military base, where the SANDF members allegedly intercepted a group of smugglers transporting 24 master boxes of illicit Remington Gold cigarettes, valued at an estimated R300,000.
It is alleged that the soldiers only declared 18 of the boxes to SA Revenue Service Customs, while the remaining six boxes were later found hidden under their beds.
“Police were alerted to the discrepancy and, upon searching the premises, found six master boxes of Remington Gold cigarettes concealed under the SANDF members’ beds. Two civilians were also discovered hiding at the base. The accused were immediately arrested,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.
On the other hand, the SANDF has confirmed that the operation was unauthorized and has reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on corruption, with disciplinary processes to run concurrently with the criminal proceedings.
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