Durban — A truck driver and a passenger were taken in for questioning after a Mandela Day operation between the SANDF’s Operation Corona soldiers and the SAPS resulted in the seizure of cigarettes valued at R6 million in KwaZulu-Natal.
In a statement, Captain A Tamela from the Joint Tactical Headquarters KZN said that in their mission along the KZN border and Lesotho, the Durban Light Infantry Regiment’s Charlie Company, deployed with precision and skill, achieved remarkable success.
Tamela said the soldiers, collaborating with the SAPS in a joint operation on July 18, intercepted a suspicious white truck near Underberg.
“The thorough search conducted by Charlie Company led to the discovery and seizure of 300 boxes of cigarettes, valued at an estimated R6m on the street,” Tamela said.
“The driver of the truck and the passenger were taken to Evatt police station for questioning, and the truck was impounded.”
Tamela explained that the interception not only serves to curb illicit activities in the region, but also plays a crucial role in revenue collection for the government through the imposition of taxes.
“The commendable efforts of the Durban Light Infantry Regiment’s Company demonstrate their unwavering commitment to maintaining peace and order along the border,” Tamela said.
Police have been approached for comment.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter, in May, a multidisciplinary team managed to seize illicit cigarettes believed to have been smuggled into the country in Limpopo.
The teams were members from the SAPS’s Border Policing Team, the SANDF, SANParks Rangers, the South African Revenue Service Customs.
Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the multidisciplinary team recovered a cargo of illicit cigarettes worth thousands of rand. The illicit cigarettes were found loaded into a white Toyota Quantum minibus on a gravel road in the bushes near the Sangweni truck stop in Musina. The cargo is believed to have been smuggled across the Limpopo River from Zimbabwe.
The recovered cargo contained about 66 boxes of illicit cigarettes worth R300 000.
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