Cape Town – The Giyani Specialised Commercial Crimes Court has earlier this week convicted and sentenced a man to five years of direct imprisonment, or a fine of R250 000, for possession of illicit cigarettes.
NPA regional spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said that Jameson Singo, 46, pleaded guilty.
According to Malabi-Dzhangi, on April 19, Musina police officers were on patrol when they spotted an SUV parked in Matshwale township.
“They then went to inspect it and found boxes packed inside the vehicle. The police enquired about the owner of the vehicle and the accused confirmed that he was the owner.
“He was requested to open the vehicle to be searched, and police then found 39 boxes of Remington Gold, 21 cartons, and four loose sticks of Remington Gold cigarettes valued at over R500 000,” Malabi-Dzhangi said.
Malabi-Dzhangi also said that in aggravation of the sentence, the state advocate, Sewela Mphasha, submitted that the offence was serious and prevalent in the court's area of jurisdiction.
“She said that this is an offence that is against the whole country, as South African citizens depend on the money paid for taxes and duties, for infrastructure to be provided.
“She further said that this puts companies that are producing legit cigarettes at a disadvantage position, as people will prefer buying these illegal cigarettes as they are cheaper.
“The court agreed with the state that the accused took responsibility for his action,” Malabi-Dzhangi added.
The Director of Public Prosecutions advocate Ivy Thenga applauded the good work done by advocate Mphasha, SARS, and Sergeant Mbedzi, of Musina police station.
“We hope that offenders of such crimes will learn from the sentence,” Thenga added.
IOL