Police smash multi-million Pula cigarettes racket

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Friday June 25, 2010 00:00

The cigarettes were worth over P1 million, according to police valuation.

Ramatlabama Station Commander Mokumako Tshegofatso says a patrol team of police and soldiers disturbed 13 men from South Africa found at the scene with the intention to pick the parcel, which had been earlier dropped there by a truck from Zimbabwe.

The police say the 13 immediately fled to the South African side of the border where they had come from.  A further police and army team inspection of the spot revealed 26 bails of Remington gold and Derby cigarettes brands, both made in Zimbabwe.The Ramatlabama police chief says they were acting after a tip-off by Interpol. He said they are still investigating how and who dropped the contraband there.

'Made in Zimbabwe' cigarettes have been a common sight around Gaborone, especially at bus rank where they are being sold by vendors.

However, the vendors have started to be cautious about the cigarettes. Yesterday, as the Mmegi team surveyed the bus rank where the illegal cigarettes have been on sale, vendors concealed them in bags and under the tables.

They were unwilling to talk to the press as soon as the Mmegi team introduced itself although one vendor almost sold the cigarettes to us. She enquired how much we wanted, but soon changed her mind when she realised she was talking to journalists.

Meanwhile, legitimate traders in alcohol, American British Tobacco (BAT) yesterday told Mmegi illicit trade harms the legitimate industry and undermines tobacco control regulations.  Speaking from their headquarters in South Africa, Elvis Mongezi Hermans, of BAT Southern African Markets said: 'It is further imperative to comprehend that illicit trade is not carried out just by small renegade operators running 'amateur' illicit trading outfits.

The reality is that highly sophisticated international criminal syndicates and organised crime organisations are increasingly dominating the picture.'

He added that according to Interpol, the organisations involved in the drugs trade, human-trafficking and arms-smuggling are often also the ones behind the trade in illicit cigarettes and alcohol.   Hermans further said the quality of illicit products is usually inferior as they do not comply with any regulatory and/or product standards required by local legislation. ''Illicit trade poses a significant threat to the public health as well as the legitimate industry.'

He further lamented that when cigarettes are smuggled across borders or moved into markets without the applicable duties and taxes being paid, governments lose out on revenue, the market is destabilised, and the reputation of legitimate operators is damaged. 

'Illicit trade impacts not only on the tobacco industry but also on government since they lose out on tax revenues generated from the sale of legitimate tobacco products. These taxes are essential for the provision of government services, particularly in developing countries, such as Botswana, where they are essential economic growth. Of course this has had an impact on our business as our cigarette volumes have been declining for the past two to three years,' the BAT official told Mmegi.