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Cash-strapped Lesotho diplomats are allegedly reselling duty-free alcohol in South Africa and Lesotho, according to a report on Saturday.
Lesotho’s Consul General Majoro Mohapi told EWN that due to shortages in staff salaries, some had resorted to reselling alcohol that they bought duty free.
He added that these fraudulent activities — selling duty-free alcohol as well as bringing over the border — were known to many.
“I would say 90% of my staff are doing that and they are making profits out it. To me it’s an illegal business because they are defrauding the South African revenue authority of tax,” Mohapi told EWN.
News24 previously reported that over the past year, police confiscated thousands of litres of alcohol from illegal liquor outlets and poured it down the drain. The liquor was confiscated between April 2018 and March 2019, according to Gauteng’s provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela.
“We want to send out a loud and strong message to illegal traders that we mean business,” Mawela said. — News24
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