On the 14 February 2017, R22 million worth of hijacked cigarettes were recovered by a joint operation between officers of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and the SAPS.
The officers received a tip-off that cigarettes were being suspiciously off-loaded at a storage facility in Fortune Street, City Deep.
Upon arrival at the scene, the officers discovered ten male suspects loading boxes off a truck which was hijacked on the N3 near Heidelberg. The truck was transporting approximately R22 million worth of cigarettes.
The officers managed to arrest two of the suspects, but eight escaped.
Hijacking of high value merchandise is a planned and syndicated crime comprising of a chain of criminal activities such as the storage, transport and reselling of stolen goods and laundering of money thereafter.
The ill begotten proceeds would thereafter also be used to fund an array of other criminal activities.
I commend the JMPD and the SAPS officers for their effort in recovering this high value merchandise and apprehending two of the suspects.
I also look forward to the positive investigation outcome by the SAPS.
These joint efforts between JMPD and SAPS prove effective and must continue in order to crack down on syndicates and criminals in the City of Johannesburg.