Two foreign nationals, aged 35 and 43, were arrested after law enforcement officers intercepted a vehicle transporting illicit cigarettes in Nelspruit on Friday, 5 June 2026.
According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), the arrests followed a lengthy surveillance operation linked to suspected illegal activities at a storage facility in White River.
A multidisciplinary team comprising the Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit, White River K9 Unit and Divergent Operations monitored vehicle movements after receiving information about a delivery of illicit cigarettes to the facility.
A Toyota Hilux identified as one of the vehicles transporting the cigarettes was followed and intercepted in Nelspruit, where the two suspects were arrested.
During the operation, officers recovered 50 master cases of illicit cigarettes valued at more than R500,000 from the vehicle.
Further investigations led authorities to a storage facility in White River, where officials from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) Customs division and the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) conducted a search.
At the facility, investigators seized an additional 87 master cases and 45 cartons of illicit cigarettes valued at more than R1.2 million.
The total value of the recovered illicit cigarettes is estimated at close to R2 million.
The suspects are expected to appear in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court on Monday, 8 June 2026.
The Provincial Head of the Hawks in Mpumalanga, Major General Nico Gerber, welcomed the arrests and praised the cooperation between the various law enforcement agencies involved.
<h5><em>Information and images supplied by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).</em></h5>