Police in Musina arrested five suspects, two of them foreigners from Zimbabwe, following the interception of their 3-ton bakkie, which was loaded with several cartons of cigarettes valued at R1.5 million, allegedly smuggled through the Beit Bridge border post.

Police spokesman in Limpopo Province Supt Ailwei Mushavhanamadi said the bakkie was intercepted along the N1 highway near Musina by police, following a tip-off last Wednesday (28 March) at around 11:00.

"On intercepting the vehicle, two of the suspects then led police to an industrial site in Musina where we recovered additional cartons of illegal Zimbabwean cigarettes hidden in a warehouse, next to a Tiger Brand Foods outlet," he said.

Police further arrested three more suspects, who are locals, soon after raiding the warehouse.

"We suspect this is a syndicate involving several other suspects but we are still investigating,’ said the police spokesman.

The five suspects appeared at the Musina magistrate’s court on Friday (30 March), facing smuggling charges. The case was postponed to 19 April without bail being considered for the accused persons.

The incident comes barely a week after another truck was intercepted along the same highway next to Cloud’s End hotel near Louis Trichardt. The truck was carrying 50 000 cartons of cigarettes, valued at R4 million.