Pretoria – Police in Ekurhuleni have arrested three people after unearthing a batch of illicit cigarettes concealed in an underground storage room, and the law enforcement agents were also offered a bribe of R1 000.
Spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD), Lieutenant-Colonel Kelebogile Thepa said the illicit cigarettes confiscated were valued at R30 000.
“On Friday, 3 February 2023, during the crime prevention operation in Brakpan and Springs areas, members of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department’s specialised services with other law enforcement agencies, apprehended three male suspects, who are between the ages of 41 and 47, in the Springs area and illicit cigarettes, were seized,” Thepa said.
“Acting on a tip-off from a reliable source, officers moved into a supermarket in Springs area at 17h00, on 4th Avenue. Armed with information that, there could be concealed illicit cigarettes, in the premises, the search was conducted, in the presence of the shop owner and his assistant.”
Thepa said during the extensive search of the premises, officers noticed the underground storage room inside the shop.
“Officers uncovered boxes of illicit cigarettes, with an estimated street value of R30 000. As law enforcers were busy, a third male person, appeared and offered officers a bribe of R1 000, before all three suspects, were handcuffed and taken to the Springs police station,” she said.
The three arrested men are facing charges including possession of illicit cigarettes, interference and bribery.
Thepa said the trio will soon appear before the Springs Magistrate’s Court.
“The EMPD, will sustain the momentum with other stakeholders, to crack down on crimes of this nature,” she said.
Last week, police in Limpopo launched a manhunt for armed men who arrived at the scene where a heavy truck ferrying illicit cigarettes and took away an injured passenger who had survived the accident.
Limpopo police spokesperson, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said: “Police in Marble Hall attending to a scene of culpable homicide in which a truck had overturned on the road between Marble Hall and Elandskraal on Thursday, February 2, 2023 at about 12:40pm, discovered that the truck was fully loaded with boxes of illicit cigarettes.”
The driver of the truck died in the accident.
IOL