Illicit cigarettes.
The Limpopo Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, popularly known as the Hawks’s Assets Forfeiture Unit has successfully secured a preservation order worth R379 745 against illicit cigarettes smugglers.
According to the Hawks provincial spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Matimba Maluleke , on 8 February 2023, Limpopo Tracking Team together with Makhado Police received intelligence about five luxury vehicles that were transporting illicit cigarettes from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg.
Five suspicious vehicles (Ford Territory, Nissan Pathfinder, 2 BMW 5 series and an Audi A4) were spotted driving in a convoy on the N1 near Makhado and they were tactically stopped.
The vehicles were searched and illicit cigarettes worth R1.7 million believed to be destined for Johannesburg were found and seized.
About 11 occupants including the drivers and passengers were arrested for smuggling illicit cigarettes. The vehicles were also seized as part of the investigation. The Hawks Assets Forfeiture Unit was entrusted with the responsibility of assets investigation until the preservation order of five vehicles was issued by the Polokwane High Court on 14 August 2023.