By Buziwe Nocuze
- Police arrested two foreign shop owners in Cape Town after finding thousands of illegal cigarettes worth R250,000.
- In a separate bust, cops found tik worth R120,000 but the suspect escaped on foot.
Police arrested two men in Cape Town after finding illegal cigarettes worth more than R250,000 in their shops.
The men, aged 24 and 44, were caught during a raid in Bellville CBD on Wednesday morning.
Western Cape police spokesperson Anelisiwe Manyama said they want to stop fake goods that harm people’s health and hurt the country’s economy.
“Members of the Western Cape Provincial Counterfeit and Illicit Goods Policing Team, together with the Provincial Anti-Economic Crimes Task Team, conducted an operation with Brand Protectors from Micor Investigation Services in Bellville CBD,” said Manyama.
The team found 5,861 illegal tobacco products in different shops. The suspects will appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court soon.
Local resident Lizwi Mbotina praised the arrests but wants more raids. “This needs to be done more often because there are a lot of shops that sell illegal products, and they are making us sick, but we buy them because we don’t have much knowledge about that,” said Mbotina.
In another bust, Maitland Flying Squad found tik worth R120,000 on the N1 freeway near Parow.
“Members who were on rest days received information about a suspect transporting tik. The members immediately placed themselves on duty and followed up,” said Manyama.
Police stopped the car near the Giel Basson turn-off, but the driver ran away. They found 1kg of tik in the vehicle.
Pictured above: SAPS seized illicit tobacco products with an estimated street value of more than R250,135.00 and tik with an estimated street value of R120,000.
Source: Supplied
