Three Police Officers Arrested in South Africa For Seizing Contraband Cigarettes

Since 2020, the volume of cigarettes being smuggled from Zimbabwe to South Africa along the Limpopo River has increased, relatively, prompting the countries' respective border guards to strengthen security.

On Friday, three police officers were arrested on charges of corruption, after allegedly reselling confiscated cigarettes in Limpopo, South Africa in July 2022, according to The South African.

According to the report, citing the Limpopo police spokesman Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, on July 12, 2022, the three constables working at the Zaaiplaas police station were detained for failing to file a report and register the illegal cigarettes they had seized from a nearby filling station.

Officers reportedly drove away the owner of the cigarettes and later dropped him in the bushes. After that, they left with four boxes of illicit cigarettes.

“The Provincial Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit arrested the suspects in Polokwane after investigations indicated that they never registered the case and the cigarettes,” Mojapelo is quoted as saying.

The officers are expected to appear in court on October 7th for bail application, according to the Limpopo police spokesperson.