LIMPOPO – The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s Assets Forfeiture Unit has successfully secured R547 300-00 final forfeiture order against illicit cigarettes smuggler, Tapa Anderson Tafadzwa. On 12 November 2019, Beitbridge Port of Entry police spotted a suspicious truck with two trailers in the vicinity of the border gate. The truck was approached, searched and the police discovered false compartments loaded with boxes containing illicit cigarettes.

The driver was arrested and the illicit cigarettes together with the truck and two trailers were seized. The Assets Forfeiture Unit attached to the Priority Crime Specialised Investigation (PCSI) of the Hawks was entrusted with the assets investigation part of the case.

After conducting an intensive investigation, the Thohoyandou High Court granted a preservation order on 28 October 2021. The matter was finalized on 08 February 2023 where the same court granted a final forfeiture order on one Man truck and two trailers.

The accused person in this case has since disappeared after he was released on bail and the warrant of arrest was issued against him.

Source: South African Police Service