A joint operation has resulted in the recovery of R22 million worth of hijacked cigarettes by officers of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and the South African Police Service. While the officers managed to arrest two of the suspects‚ eight escaped.
The officers made the seizure on Tuesday after receiving a tip-off that cigarettes were being suspiciously off-loaded at a storage facility in Fortune Street‚ City Deep‚ public safety MMC Michael Sun said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The officers discovered 10 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.”
Sun commended the officers‚ stating: “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-gotten proceeds would thereafter also be used to fund an array of other criminal activities“.
“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.”
Truck hijackers caught in the act - but most escape arrest
A joint operation has resulted in the recovery of R22 million worth of hijacked cigarettes by officers of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and the South African Police Service. While the officers managed to arrest two of the suspects‚ eight escaped.
The officers made the seizure on Tuesday after receiving a tip-off that cigarettes were being suspiciously off-loaded at a storage facility in Fortune Street‚ City Deep‚ public safety MMC Michael Sun said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The officers discovered 10 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.”
Sun commended the officers‚ stating: “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-gotten proceeds would thereafter also be used to fund an array of other criminal activities“.
“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.”
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