Trial date set for cigarette syndicate

Johannesburg - A group of 74 people accused of involvement in the theft of British American Tobacco (BAT) cigarettes will stand trial in the Khayelitsha Priority Crimes Court this week, police said.

“The court can’t accommodate all of them at once, so the syndicate has been split into four groups. Others will appear individually,” said police spokesman Brigadier Vish Naidoo.

“They were all involved in more than 100 cases of British American Tobacco cigarette theft.”

The groups would appear on Friday to face charges of racketeering, armed robbery, kidnapping, hijacking and possession of illegal firearm and ammunition.

In a separate case, a couple who ran a cigarette shop, known as Smokers Paradise in Woodstock were granted bail of R2,000 each on Friday after they were allegedly found in possession of 35 boxes of stolen BAT cigarettes valued at R500 000.

“For nearly two years, police have been trying to link Bafana Nxele, 30, to allegations that Smokers Paradise owner Mr Osman was buying stolen BAT cigarettes. In March this year, Nxele was arrested in Woodstock close to the Osman house carrying six boxes of stolen cigarettes,” Naidoo said.

Nxele was allegedly involved in six different cases involving theft of BAT cigarettes before his arrest.

“He is expected to appear again on 26 August 2015 for bail application in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, but his matter will eventually be placed at the Khayelitsha Priority Crimes Court roll.”

Cigarette distributors, especially cigarette giant BAT, have been hit by a spate of robberies in recent times. The company resorted to using armed security personnel to escort trucks and vans transporting cigarettes across the country.

On Sunday, the City Press newspaper reported that BAT was receiving police protection to deliver its cargo free of charge. The police’s tactical response team had for months been providing armed police escorts for BAT, the report said.

The police indicated that there was nothing wrong with providing the service to BAT as it was part of crime prevention.

ANA