Hijackings an inside job — Chihuri

officers during the official opening of this year’s Senior Officers Conference in Vumba yesterday. Comm-Gen Chihuri called for thorough investigations, saying a mini war was raging along the Zimbabwe-South Africa border on the matter that had resulted in loss of lives. The Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA) which had been accused of masterminding the crime has denied any involvement.
Local firms have reportedly lost R100 million worth of cigarettes in transit to organised hijackers in South Africa.
TISA is being accused of contracting a security firm, Forensic Security Services, to monitor Zimbabwean cigarette manufacturers, whose brands are giving their South African counterparts stiff competition. Comm-Gen Chihuri said the hijacking of the consignments was hurting the economy.
“I urge our investigation agents to get to the bottom of the matter.
“However, I am convinced that this is an inside job. If you look and analyse the way the crime is perpetrated as well as the packaging of the consignments, you will be convinced that it is an inside job.
“To me, there is no doubt about that. The sad thing is that it is bleeding the economy and the country loses revenue.”
TISA chief executive Mr Francois van der Merwe said his organisation was not involved in the industrial espionage in Zimbabwe.
“The illegal trade in cigarettes is the single biggest threat to the sustainability of the tobacco industry, both locally, regionally and internationally, and as such we are committed to working closely with Southern African as well as other governments in eradicating this issue,” said Mr van der Merwe.
“Independent research indicates that illegal cigarettes in South Africa currently account for approximately 30 percent of the total cigarette market. This equates to a loss of more than R4 billion in revenue in 2011 for the South African Government and to the revenue sharing customs union, SACU.”