By Teboho Moloi
BETHLEHEM – Two foreign nationals, aged 27 and 28, have been arrested after police uncovered an illicit cigarette consignment worth an estimated R7.8 million at a plot in Morelig on Friday, 08 May.
Police seized 180 boxes of illicit cigarettes valued at approximately R4.3 million from a vehicle believed to have been used to transport the consignment.
A further 152 boxes, with an estimated street value of R3.5 million, were discovered inside a storage unit on the property.
Free State police spokesperson Lt Col Thabo Covane said the major bust was the result of intelligence-driven crime prevention operations.
Covane said police acted on a tip-off about a suspected cache of illicit goods being stored at the plot in Morelig.
“Upon arrival, members intercepted a male near a white Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with Gauteng registration plates and an adjacent storeroom. A thorough search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 180 boxes of illicit cigarettes with an estimated street value of R4.3 million.
During a further search of the storage unit, members uncovered an additional 152 boxes of illicit cigarettes valued at R3.5 million,” he said.
Police have launched further investigations to determine the origin and intended destination of the contraband.
The two suspects are expected to appear soon in the Bethlehem Magistrate’s Court on charges related to the possession of illicit cigarettes.
The total value of the seized contraband is estimated at R7.8 million.
