Central SA
NW cigarette smuggler to deal with state─── LUCKY NKUYANE 11:03 Fri, 21 Aug 2020
The defence team of a 48-year-old suspect who was arrested in July for smuggling illicit cigarettes worth over R4 million in the North West is expected to make a plea and sentence proposal to the state prosecutor.
This after Levy Katebe’s matter was postponed in the Zeerust Magistrate's Court to 15 September 2020 and he remained in custody. The National Prosecution Authority's (NPA) Regional spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, indicate that following Katebe’s arrest by the Hawks, further investigations in relation to the violation of the Medicine and Related Substances Act are being conducted.
The 48-year-old was arrested at the Kopfontein port of entry near Zeerust for being in possession of 152 boxes of cigarettes after he entered the country from Zambia via Botswana with a Gauteng-registered truck. During his arrest, police discovered 152 Master cases, 42 cartons of cigarettes, 200 boxes of tablets, 300 pieces of artificial hair and 4174 cell phone screens.
He is being charged for the possession of illicit cigarettes and failure to declare goods. The North West Hawks spokesperson, Tlangelani Rikhotso, had previously said that Katebe apparently had a similar case to answer to at the Lephalale Magistrate’s Court in Limpopo.
OFM News
