A 29-year-old foreign national was fined for possession of illicit cigarettes and counterfeit goods in his store.
On 5 February 2024 at about 10:00, Anti-Gang Unit members while on patrol in Welkom identified an area of concern behind a well-known business in Welkom where delivery vehicles were seen frequenting the area.
Upon entering the business park, members spotted two foreign nationals acting suspiciously. The two were approached and boxes of suspected illicit cigarettes were found at the back of their vehicle.
Officials from SARS Customs and the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) were summoned while members continued with their search. Another discovery was made of more counterfeit goods such as nappies, herbal tea, women’s sanitary pads, shoe polish, hookah flavours, and illicit hookah charcoal worth an estimated R100 000.
All goods were seized by the DESTEA team and fines were issued by members of the Anti-Gang Unit to the 29-year-old for possession of counterfeit goods. Further investigations are carried out by a multidisciplinary team.
