Alcoholic beverages photographed during Operation Basadi in Mpumalanga, where SAPS confiscated 592.48 litres of liquor as part of its crackdown on counterfeit and illicit goods. Photo: SAPS
The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Mpumalanga seized nearly 9 000 counterfeit goods valued at more than R2.2 million during Operation Basadi, conducted across the province during August.
Operation Basadi is a Women’s Month crime-fighting initiative in which female police officers and women from other law-enforcement agencies take leading roles in targeted operations aimed at combating various forms of crime.
According to SAPS, a total of 8 964 counterfeit items with an estimated value of R2 245 960 were confiscated, along with 592.48 litres of alcoholic beverages. Seventeen people were arrested for possession of counterfeit goods, 15 for possession of illegal cigarettes and a further 30 for illegally dealing in liquor.
Law enforcement officers also conducted inspections at businesses and other premises throughout Mpumalanga, visiting 70 second-hand dealers, 43 scrapyards and recyclers, and 1 085 informal businesses.
Mpumalanga Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Apaphia Modise commended the women in blue and other stakeholders who participated in the operation, saying the seizures demonstrated SAPS’s commitment to combating illegal trade and protecting legitimate businesses and communities.
Modise said similar operations would continue as police work to bring those involved in the illegal trade of counterfeit and illicit goods to justice, adding that such activities have a negative impact on the economy.