More illicit tobacco traders nabbed
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Tuesday June 2, 2020 18:38
The incident took place a day after President Mokgweetsi Masisi reaffirmed the ban of tobacco when addressing the nation.
When confirming the incident, Tshesebe police acting station commander, assistant superintendent Otlaadisa Mogotsi said that they have arrested two Batswana male suspects aged between 20 and 35 years of age on Sunday found in possession of illicit cigarettes.
He said that the duo was stopped and held by police officers at Bisoli roadblock, where their vehicle was found loaded with 3,850 cartons of Chelsea cigarettes.
He said that the suspects were arrested and charged with illegal importation of tobacco during the State of Emergency (SOE).
Mogotsi suspected that the tobacco was smuggled from neighbouring Zimbabwe through ungazetted points of entry.
Though the suspects were taken into custody, the police are yet to determine the most suitable manner in which to handle the case.
Tshesebe acting station commander said that they have two options to deal with the case, of which they can either confiscate the illegal cigarettes and charge the suspects P2,000 each or refer the matter to the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS).
He added that: “BURS deals with issues pertaining to customs duty and importation tax and they are in a better position to deal with cases of this nature. If we refer the case to BURS the duo can be charged a fine not less than P15,000 or even be prosecuted. The BURS officials can even seize the vehicle that was used to transport the illegal cigarettes”.
Mogotsi said that during interrogation, the suspects revealed that they were just paid to transport the illicit cigarettes from Mowana village to the second city.
He added that there is a possibility of the pair having been given the pick up address and contact person at Mowana village.
He said that from what they picked up during the interrogation of the suspects, illegal smuggling of tobacco takes place through a syndicate.
He noticed that the syndicate of tobacco importation is divided into a supplier, middleman, transporter and a distributor.
Mogotsi also raised concern over the growing trend of tobacco smuggling in their policing area.
He listed Kingsgate, Madison and Everest amongst the top illicit cigarettes smuggled into their policing area from Zimbabwe.
The police indicated that since the beginning of SOE in April they have registered over six cases of illegal tobacco importation.
He also said that they have reason to believe that the cases are higher than six because they did not register cases they referred to BURS.