Colesburg police seize illicit cigarettes worth millions

A joint Inter-Provincial Cross Border operation by law enforcement from the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State disrupted the trade and distribution of illicit cigarettes in Colesberg on Wednesday, August 20 2025.

Colesberg SAPS, Kuyasa SAPS, Crime Intelligence and SA Revenue Services Customs acted on information and approached a general dealer in Kerk Street, Colesberg, where illicit cigarette sales were suspected.

Search warrants were obtained and executed, and officers seized counterfeit cigarettes with an estimated street value of about R370,000.

A truck parked next to the store was also searched, and police found another consignment of counterfeit cigarettes with an estimated street value of about R2.5 million. Both the cigarettes and the truck were seized.

The operation moved to a filling station in Station Road, where additional counterfeit cigarettes with an estimated street value of about R590,000 were confiscated.

According to SAPS, the total estimated street value of the seized cigarettes and truck is about R7.5 million. The owners were given seven days to provide original documentation for the goods.

Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola, Provincial Commissioner of the Northern Cape, “commended the team for their continued collaboration during the execution of disruptive actions.” She also “reiterated that SAPS and its partners remain unwavering in their efforts to eradicate the illicit trade in counterfeit goods, which poses a serious threat to the country’s economy.”