Police bust dealers and cigarette smugglers crossing provincial borders

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has said that drug dealers and people trying to sell products deemed illegal during the lockdown such as booze and cigarettes are still finding creative ways to move their products. 

Police in the Western Cape confiscated a large supply of cigarettes and dagga that was hidden beneath pineapples in a bakkie trying to cross the provincial border into the Eastern Cape, and several other busts were made around borders in the last 24-hours. 

Cigarette smuggler nabbed

Cigarettes were valued at R200 000 were found in the back of a Toyota bakkie driving from Grahams Town to George on Tuesday 12 May. The driver was pulled over at a roadblock and officers wanted to take a closer look at his cargo – a load of pineapples. 

The officers searched the vehicle belonging to a 30-year-old man and discovered boxes of cigarettes stashed below the versatile fruit, which for the duration of the lockdown has found a place in the cookbooks of beer brewers. 

Police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie said that the cigarettes were meant to arrive in George to be sold on. 

“A Ford bakkie with a load of pineapples approach the roadblock at Tsitsikamma Toll Gate as it was en-route from Grahams Town to George. A vigilant member attached to the Tsitsikamma K-9 (Knysna Dog Unit) who was deployed at the roadblock noticed that the driver appeared to be anxious.”

“As a result, he pulled over the vehicle and ensued with a routine search. As the member moved some of the pineapples aside on the back of the bakkie, he discovered eight boxes filled with 50 cartons of cigarettes to the estimated value of about R200 000.”

“The 30-year-old man was arrested on the spot and the illicit cigarettes were confiscated. The suspect was processed at the Plettenberg Bay police station and issued with a summons to appear in the Plettenberg Magistrates’ court at a later date and time. The illicit cigarettes were destined for distribution in George.”

Dagga bust in Langkloof  

Heading the other way, from the Eastern Cape to the Western Cape, was another suspect who was found in possession of R85 000 worth of dagga stashed away in the boot of his car. 

Pojie said that the 26-year-old man was arrested and the drugs confiscated. 

“Members deployed at a roadblock on the R62 in the Langkloof area pulled over a Mercedes Benz vehicle that was en-route from the Eastern to the Western Cape.  Upon searching the boot of the vehicle, members found three bags filled with dagga. The dagga with a weight of 63.1kg is estimated at a value of about R85 000.”

“Subsequent to the find, the members confiscated the dagga as well as the vehicle used to transport the consignment. The 26-year-old suspect was arrested on the spot and detained at the Uniondale holding cells.” 

He is expected to make his first court appearance in the George Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday 13 May 2020. He has been charged with the illegal possession of drugs.