SAPS
Police and members of the South African National Defence Force seized a large quantity of cigarettes, drugs and a vehicle at the Telle Bridge Port of Entry between the Eastern Cape and Lesotho over the past few weeks.
Eastern Cape police said on Monday that two men, one a Bangladeshi national, were arrested for illegally transporting tobacco products on 20 May.
Spokesperson, Colonel Sibongile Soci, said after searching a minibus, police seized boxes of cigarettes with an estimated street value of R742 000.
She said ten days later, members on a joint patrol came across cartons of cigarettes and crates of beer, which police believe were meant to be collected after being smuggled across the border.
Soci said later on the same day, 30 May, police arrested three men after finding four bags of dagga inside their vehicle, which was also confiscated.
Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga, applauded the good relations and “excellent synergy” between the SAPS and SANDF during these operations.
She said additional charges of Contravening Disaster Management Act Regulations would be added to the charges faced by the arrested suspects.
