Not to be outdone by police successes elsewhere in the province over the past week, the Makhado and Tshilwavhusiku police arrested three men after finding a truck carrying more than R10 million worth of illegal cigarettes.
According to provincial police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe, the Makhado police were performing patrol duties on the N1 on Thursday last week (3rd) at around 03:00 when they noticed a truck driving at a high speed. They tried to stop it, but the driver sped off and members called for back-up from the Tshilwavhusiku police. At the same time, the police received information from a tracking company about a hijacked truck matching the same description, heading towards the Tshilwavhusiku area.
"The said truck was later found abandoned in the Magau area. It was searched and boxes of illicit cigarettes with an estimated street value of R9 903 474 were confiscated," said Ngoepe.
The police continued with their investigations and manhunt for the suspects involved. Later that same day, in the afternoon, a SARS customs official, the 36-year-old Freddy Lentsoane, came to the police station in Louis Trichardt, alleging that he had been on duty and that the truck had been cleared by him at the Beitbridge Border Post. He was promptly arrested. Two other men, the 64-year-old Christian Phillipus Bezuidenhout and 19-year-old Christian Laurens Bezuidenhout, also arrived at the police station. They informed the police that they were the owners of the truck and that the truck had never been hijacked. Both men were also arrested on the spot.
All three men appeared in the magistrate's court at Tshilwavhusiku on 4 December. The two Bezuidenhouts were released on R1 000 bail each, while Lentsoane was denied bail. They appeared in the same court again on Tuesday this week, during which their case was postponed until 14 December. Lentsoane was denied bail once more. The three men are accused of corruption and defeating the ends of justice.