CAPE TOWN, July (ANA) - The South African Revenue Service (Sars) confiscated goods and cash worth a combined R1.7 billion in various busts at the country's ports of entry since the beginning of 2018, it said in a statement on Friday.
The siezures include counterfeit clothing and footwear worth R1.4 billion, illicit drugs worth R171 million, viagra and its generics worth R40.4 million, endangered species such as abalone worth R13.9 million, cigarettes worth R33.3 million and currency worth R52.9 million.
Sars said the value of goods confiscated was up from the same period last year where the value of the merchandise seized totalled R1.6 billion.
Sars acting chief officer for customs and excise, Beyers Theron, said while the successes were significant, he believed the revenue service customs division could do more to crack down on the illicit economy.
"We need to start looking at trends and patterns and becoming more strategic in the way we are dealing with some of these risks," he said.
- African News Agency (ANA)
