Chronicle Editor
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
POLICE in Limpopo province which borders Zimbabwe, have said they are not relenting in their war against illegal cigarettes dealings and drug peddling.
The provincial police spokesperson Colonel Malasela Ledwaba said they were arresting cigarette smugglers and drug dealers every day.
He said on Saturday they arrested a 48-year-old suspect in possession of an assortment of cigarettes believed to have been smuggled from Zimbabwe.
Col Ledwaba said the suspect will soon appear before the Mookgopong Magistrates Court facing charges of possession of illicit cigarettes.
“The suspect was on Saturday stopped and searched at Roedtan and found in possession of illicit cigarettes loaded into the vehicle he was driving, and was subsequently arrested on the spot,” he said.
“In another incident, a tactical operation was conducted by the members of the Provincial Organised Crime Unit that resulted in the apprehension of a male suspect for possession and dealing in drugs in the Polokwane Policing area.
Police received information about a white Audi A4 motor vehicle that was allegedly distributing drugs at a local park next to Polokwane Provincial Hospital and operationalized on the tip-off”.
Upon arrival, he said the team pounced on the suspect whom they found in possession of Kat and Crystal meth drugs with an estimated street value of R11 000.
The man was placed under arrest on the spot.
Col Ledwaba said the suspect, whose age is still to be determined, will appear before the Polokwane Magistrate Court facing charges of possession and dealing in drugs.
The smuggling of cigarettes from Zimbabwe into South Africa through illegal crossing points along the Limpopo River is rife.
About 30 percent of cigarettes in South Africa are from Zimbabwe including Pacific, Remington gold, Mega, Dullahs, Branson and Servilles. @tupeyo
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter