Johannesburg - The Hawks believe they have made a major breakthrough in the trade in illegal cigarettes after four kingpins were arrested in Bloemfontein and Welkom with more than R1.5 million worth of stock.
According to Lieutenant Robert Netshiunda, two men - Mohmed Soyeb Mulla, 43, and Farid Goolam Hoosen Hatia, 50, - were arrested in Welkom on Wednesday when they were found with R1.5 million worth of illegal cigarettes.
On the same day, Zafar Iqbal, 39, and Waqas Muhammed, 25, were found with illegal cigarettes valued at R50 000 during a stop-and-search operation in Bloemfontein.
Netshiunda told The Star that the arrests by the Hawks’ commercial crimes division were a result of an investigation that started in 2012.
“When we got information that there were too many illegal cigarettes in the area, as the Hawks we took our time. We did not want to find cigarettes without suspects, that's why we had to dig down,” he said.
Their investigations indicated that the four men were the main suppliers of illegal cigarettes in the region.
He said the Hawks would now investigate where the men got their stock from, adding that one supplier had been identified in Joburg.
The four men, who were from India and Pakistan, but had South African citizenship, had no previous charges against them.
Iqbal and Muhammed, who were charged with contravening section 80 of the Custom and Excise Act, appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. They were released on R7 000 bail each and were expected to appear in court again on Monday.
Mulla and Hatia were granted R100 000 and R30 000 bail respectively in the Welkom Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and were ordered to surrender their passports. They were also ordered to report to the Welkom Police Station twice a week. Their case was postponed to March 18.
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The Star