A 39-year old suspect appeared in the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court yesterday following his arrest for his alleged involvement in smuggling illicit cigarettes.
The Polokwane based Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation members took over an investigation from SAPS-Marble Hall detectives in January this year, where five people were arrested for allegedly smuggling illicit cigarettes worth over R12 million.
Further investigation was conducted and it was established that the suspect is the owner of the trucks that were used to transport illicit cigarettes. It was further revealed that the suspect allegedly reported to the tracker company that his trucks were hijacked with cigarettes whereas he knew that they were arrested and kept as exhibits at the police station for transporting illicit cigarettes.
When the suspect was summoned to court regarding his arrested drivers and trucks, he allegedly gave contradicting information about the usage of his trucks. As a result, a warrant of arrest was authorized against him and he was arrested in Johannesburg yesterday.
The Provincial head of the Hawks in Limpopo, Major-General Gopz Govender, has welcomed the arrest and appreciated the excellent work done by the members. "Through our highly skilled detectives, we will be able to paralyze illicit cigarettes smuggling syndicates in the province," said Govender.
Pretoria News