A multi-disciplinary operation led to the arrest of a 45-year-old Bangladeshi national on Thursday for dealing in illicit cigarettes. The operation was conducted by the Hawks’ Nelspruit-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit, in collaboration with Crime Intelligence and Customs and Excise.
The arrest was the result of intelligence-driven information, which the team operationalised, leading them to a supermarket in the West Acres area of Nelspruit.
Upon searching the premises, authorities discovered and confiscated master boxes containing a variety of brands of illicit cigarettes. The suspect, who is in South Africa under the status of a temporary asylum seeker, could not provide any proof of purchase or documentation for the required tax duties.
He was subsequently arrested and charged with Contravention of the Customs and Excise Act of South Africa, as well as the possession, distribution, and selling of illicit cigarettes.
The accused is scheduled to make his first appearance before the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 24 October 2025.
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