South Africa’s Hawks (a specialized police unit) and the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) secured high court orders to seize vehicles used in the smuggling of illicit cigarettes from Zimbabwe, marking a significant step in efforts to curb cross-border tobacco crime.
The Limpopo High Court granted a forfeiture order for a Freightliner Argosy truck and two trailers, intercepted at Beitbridge border post in March while carrying Zimbabwean-made cigarettes. The vehicles, worth $48,000, were confiscated after the arrest of the driver. In a separate case, authorities also secured a forfeiture order for a VW bus valued at $9,100 in a 2023 case of transporting illicit cigarettes.
Officials say one-third of the cigarettes in South Africa are smuggled from Zimbabwe. Smugglers reportedly buy cigarette boxes for $120 in Zimbabwe and resell them for up to $840 in South Africa. Authorities have pledged continued action against smugglers, as tobacco tax evasion and black-market sales remain a major challenge to public health and revenue collection.
