Two men from Zimbabwe face five years behind bars after a court found them guilty of having illegal stuff worth R8 million. Samuel Nkomo, 38, and Josephat Mawire, 46, heard their fate at the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. New Zimbabwe first broke this news, with LOL and Sowetan Live backing up the story.
Police stopped these men during a search check on September 11, 2024. Officers from the Capricorn Flying Squad patrolled the R521 road, also called Dendron Road. They pulled over a white Rigid Man Truck and looked inside. What they found shocked them - 908 boxes of Adalya Premium Hookah Tobacco wrapped in plastic bags.
The National Prosecuting Authority said this tobacco came all the way from Turkey. But these men had no real papers showing they could bring it into South Africa legally. When officials checked their SAD 500 form and invoice, they discovered fake documents. The South African Revenue Service had no record of these papers in their system.
Nkomo and Mawire admitted they did wrong when they stood before the judge. Advocate Ivy Thenga, who runs Public Prosecutions, felt happy about how things turned out. She praised everyone who helped catch these criminals. "This sentence warns anyone thinking about illegal trade," Thenga said. She thanked Advocates Phumudzo Mudau, Tebogo Mothapo, and Sergeant Mmametse Sophina Lehodi from the Hawks for their hard work.
Police stopped these men during a search check on September 11, 2024. Officers from the Capricorn Flying Squad patrolled the R521 road, also called Dendron Road. They pulled over a white Rigid Man Truck and looked inside. What they found shocked them - 908 boxes of Adalya Premium Hookah Tobacco wrapped in plastic bags.
The National Prosecuting Authority said this tobacco came all the way from Turkey. But these men had no real papers showing they could bring it into South Africa legally. When officials checked their SAD 500 form and invoice, they discovered fake documents. The South African Revenue Service had no record of these papers in their system.
Nkomo and Mawire admitted they did wrong when they stood before the judge. Advocate Ivy Thenga, who runs Public Prosecutions, felt happy about how things turned out. She praised everyone who helped catch these criminals. "This sentence warns anyone thinking about illegal trade," Thenga said. She thanked Advocates Phumudzo Mudau, Tebogo Mothapo, and Sergeant Mmametse Sophina Lehodi from the Hawks for their hard work.
