R750k worth of illegal entjies go up in smoke
|Published
Metro Police have stopped an illegal supply of cigarettes and confiscating R750 000 worth of contraband entjies in a delivery truck in Bellville.
This was amongst the busts they made during lockdown last week.
Metro Police spokesperson Ruth Solomons says their team noticed a suspicious vehicle in Durban Road in Bellville on Thursday night.
She says as officers approached the light delivery vehicle, a group of people ran inside a house.
The officers found 15 boxes of Richman cigarettes inside the vehicle and when they questioned the group, no one wanted to take ownership of the entjies.
The boxes were removed from the vehicle and have been booked in as abandoned.
The sale of tobacco products is not permitted during Level 4 of the national Coronavirus lockdown.
Solomons explains: “Metro Police officers recovered cigarettes valued at R750 000 in Bellville.
“Officers were on patrol in the area at around 11pm on Thursday when they noticed a commotion behind a white light delivery vehicle in Durban Road.
“When they stopped to investigate, the group ran inside a nearby premises.
“Officers found 15 boxes of Richman cigarettes in the back of the vehicle.
“None of the persons wanted to claim ownership of the cigarettes or the vehicle, so officers confiscated the cigarettes and booked it in at Bellville SAPS as abandoned.”
Metro Police also made arrests in Bishop Lavis where a 24-year-old man was arrested for being in possession of an illegal firearm, while three others were nabbed in Khayelitsha for a hijacked car.
Solomons says the Lavis bust followed a tip-off from the community.
“They confiscated a 9mm Z88 pistol, with serial number filed off and 12 rounds of ammunition.”
On Friday morning, just before 8am, the K9 Unit stopped a white Toyota Corolla at a roadblock on the N2 near Khayelitsha.
“The driver couldn’t produce a driver’s licence or a reason for being on the road,” says Solomons.
SEIZED: Illegal gun in Bishop Lavis.
“When officers checked the registration number against the disc on the vehicle, they found it didn’t match, and it soon emerged that the vehicle had been reported stolen in a hijacking in Langa.”
Three suspects, aged between 24 and 29, were arrested for the possession of a stolen vehicle.