Pretoria - The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has thwarted two attempts to smuggle illicit cigarettes worth R4.2 million at the Limpopo border post.
In a statement on Wednesday, SARS said customs officials detained R3.6 million worth of illicit cigarettes from a truck coming from Zambia en route to Boksburg in Gauteng at Groblersbridge.
“At Beitbridge, a midnight search on the eve of 23 November resulted in another discovery of R623 000 worth of illicit cigarettes in a hidden container en route to a South African destination,” said SARS.
The revenue service said that thanks to the vigilance of a customs inspector at Groblersbridge, who noted a suspicious engagement between a truck driver and clearing agents, almost 18 000 cartons of cigarettes were found hidden in a false compartment of an almost empty container.
The customs official noticed the unusual interaction between the truck driver and clearing agents within the import control area.
Confident that “a deal” was being closed, he notified a South African Police Service (SAPS) officer.
The truck driver and clearing agents were then linked to a specific truck where upon inspection, it was found that the container was bigger on the outside than on the inside. The cigarettes were found in a hidden compartment in the container.
The truck and cigarettes were detained pending a criminal investigation, and a Zambian national was arrested in connection with suspected smuggling.
Beitbridge
On the same day, a customs officer at Beitbridge stopped a truck for a routine check when he discovered the driver did not have a temporary import permit.
This prompted the officer to search the seemingly empty truck. A total of 3 135 cartons of Pacific Blue cigarettes were found in a false compartment underneath the trailer.
“This is not the first time this officer’s trained eye thwarted smuggling attempts. In August 2015, he intercepted 14.5kg of Ephedrine drugs worth R5 million, as well as intercepting another truck carrying illicit cigarettes in a false compartment in September 2015,” said the revenue service.
The driver from Zimbabwe was arrested and the truck and cigarettes detained.
“These add to the significant seizures by SARS customs officials who implement daily inspections in an effort to foil smuggling of goods, as is evident from seizures of approximately 61.5 million cigarettes valued at R54.3 million so far during this financial year (between April and October 2015),” said SARS. – SAnews.gov.za
