SAPS intensifies war against drugs

Thupeyo Muleya

Beitbridge Bureau

South African police in Limpopo province, which borders Zimbabwe, are not relenting in their war against illegal cigarette dealings and drug peddling.

The provincial police spokesperson Colonel Malasela Ledwaba said they were making arrests daily for cigarettes smuggling and drugs.

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 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 of a white Audi A4 motor vehicle that was allegedly distributing drugs at a local park next to Polokwane Provincial Hospital and operationalised on the tip-off”.

Upon arrival, arrested the suspect whom they found in possession of kat and crystal meth drugs with an estimated street value of R11 000.

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. 

It is understood that 30 percent of cigarettes in South Africa are from Zimbabwe. Smugglers take the risks of arrest because of the potential profits. 

South African tobacco taxes are much higher than those in Zimbabwe so a smuggler can buy legal and taxed cigarettes in Zimbabwe, smuggle them to South Africa and sell them at a substantial discount on the taxed South African price.