Officials discovered a stash of unprocessed tobacco worth R10 million at a warehouse in the town's Thorn Park, suspected to have come through the Beit Bridge border post from Zimbabwe.
East London police made the bust in collaboration with
customs officers. A 31-year-old male suspect was arrested for possession of
unprocessed tobacco and bribery.
Eastern Cape police said the arrest came after customs
officials at the border post stopped a truck with a cargo of unlicensed tobacco
destined for East London.
Customs officials informed their colleagues in East London
about a Warehouse in Kleipheuvel Road as the cargo's destination.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Thembinkosi Kinana said SAPS'
Rural Safety members and custom officials stormed the warehouse and discovered
stacks of numerous boxes of unprocessed tobacco.
He said the suspect was arrested for possession of the
product and illegal activities that allegedly took place inside the alleged
rented business premises.
Kinana said during the operation, police discovered about 1
279 boxes weighing a total of 200 kilograms of both raw and cut rag tobacco.
He added that the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the
customs officials with an undisclosed amount of money to evade arrest.
The customs officials reported the matter to the police who had since confiscated the alleged cash and added another charge of bribery, said Kinana.
Dladla said: It is this kind of collaboration and
information sharing that will ensure our success in breaking the backbone of
the criminal network. I trust that our detectives will dig more into these
despicable activities in order to expose even those who may have been part of
the plan and business.
The suspect is due to appear in the East London
Magistrate's Court once he's charged for possession of unprocessed tobacco and
bribery.
The possibility of additional charges could not be ruled
out and the investigation continued, said Kinana. News24
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