Border police confiscate cigarettes

During a joint operation involving members of the SA Defence Force and the SA Police, illegal cigarettes worth thousands of rands were confiscated in the bushes along the Pontdrif road outside Musina over the weekend.

According to a media statement by the SAPS, the officers deployed at Beitbridge received information about a blue Toyota Tazz that was delivering illegal cigarettes within the Musina area. The team acted swiftly and followed the targeted motor vehicle. The driver then drove away towards an unknown destination, and when the police searched the nearby bushes, a cargo container with about 260 cartons of illegal cigarettes with an estimated street value of R116,766 was discovered.

The team of law enforcers operating at the border also confiscated a ferry operating on the banks of the Limpopo River between Zimbabwe and South Africa that is believed to have been used for smuggling counterfeit goods across the border. The ferry was later destroyed. Eleven male foreign nationals aged between 18 and 46 years were arrested on Saturday, 6 April, for contravention of the Immigration Act in Modimolle in the Waterberg District and at Beitbridge Port of Entry, respectively.

The foreign nationals arrested for contravention of the Immigration Act will be referred to the Department of Home Affairs for immigration officers to process them for direct deportation to their countries of origin. The arrested suspects are expected to appear in various magistrate’s courts in the week.

Date:11 April 2024

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