R1.7m of cigarettes seized in Central

Police nab five at spaza shop in breakthrough against illicit trade

CIGARETTES worth about R1.7-million were seized from a spaza shop in Port Elizabeth following a tip-off and five men were arrested. Police have hailed this as another breakthrough in the fight against the illicit cigarette trade that costs the economy billions of rands.

The bust took place on Monday and the five men – Berhanu Abo, 32, Kajamo Birham, 32, Delele Daniel, 36, Matiku Doboch, 27, and Zamakune Halille, 31 – appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The men were charged with being in possession of suspected stolen cigarettes. but the charges are likely to be changed under the SA Revenue and Customs laws.

They will remain in custody until their next court appearance on January 15.

The bust in Central comes weeks after a preservation order was served on a group of suspected illicit cigarette dealers who were arrested in October, when police confiscated cigarettes worth about R18-million.

In both incidents, the brands seized included South African-made JFK cigarettes, produced by Carnilinx.

The second bust also included Kingdom and Caesar gold cigarettes.

Since 2010, the government has lost more than R27-billion due to the illicit cigarette trade.

Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the raid had followed a tip-off that boxes of cigarettes were stashed inside a back room of a foreign-owned spaza shop in Havelock Street.

“Police went to the address and searched the premises,” she said.

“However, when they wanted to get into a locked room that was behind a security gate, the tenants and shop owners maintained they did not have a key to get into the room.

“Within minutes, the two police officials were surrounded by about 20 people.

“As the confrontation escalated, the group threatened to attack the police members, who withdrew and called for backup. Several police officials were on the scene quickly and secured the premises.

“Police kicked open the locked door and found four people inside. They were using the back door and trying to throw boxes of cigarettes over the boundary wall behind the premises.”

Janse van Rensburg said cigarette smuggling and the illegal sale of these cigarettes was highly profitable.

She said the men faced a charge of possession of suspected stolen property, but police were still investigating and could add additional charges of contravention of the Tobacco Products Control Act, the Value Added Tax Act and the Customs and Excise Act.

“We are currently waiting to ascertain if invoices and documents can be produced by the suspects.

“At this stage, no such documentation has been handed over to us.”

Police are also consulting with Home Affairs to determine if the men are in the country legally.

Earlier this month, a Malabar house and vehicles were seized from Ashraf Laher, 39, the alleged mastermind behind a multimillion-rand illicit cigarette operation in the Eastern Cape.

This followed the arrest of Laher and his brother, Araf, 32, and four other people in October.