In what is believed to be one of the biggest illegal cigarette busts, Thohoyandou police in Limpopo dealt a serious blow to syndicates dealing in illegal cigarettes when they arrested two men and confiscated more than 1 500 cartons in one operation.

Acting on a tip-off, police spotted two suspicious-looking vehicles driving in the direction of Louis Trichardt from Thohoyandou at Dzindi river on Sunday.

A roadblock was immediately set up and police managed to stop the two cars. It is alleged one of the suspects, sensing danger, alighted from his vehicle and tried to escape on foot in the direction of Ha Mugomeli, which is a village not far from the scene.

Members of the public who witnessed the incident were soon hot on his trail and he did not get far; he was arrested at the nearby Dzindi River. The other suspect was arrested at the scene.

One of the drivers of the cars carrying the illegal cigarettes tried to race away but the vehicle landed in a ditch and was taken to the Thulamela car pound.

Limpopo police spokesperson in Vhembe Captain Mashudu Malelo said it was the biggest bust ever in the Thohoyandou policing area. “We have had numerous arrests of cigarette smugglers, but it is very rare that we find so many cigarettes in one go. We hope we have broken the back of this smuggling syndicate,” he said.

He praised members of the public for alerting the police to the suspects, saying it was through such cooperation that crime could be stopped in its tracks. “We are very grateful to our communities who have come to realize that they have a role to play in fighting crime. We are confident that, with their support, we will beat crime,” he said.

With Vhembe being close to the neighbouring Zimbabwe, it has become a major transit route for smugglers of illicit cigarettes, which have a big market in South Africa.

Malelo said they were not sure if the two were part of a big syndicate but investigations would shed light on the matter. “We cannot rule out that possibility as these people operate in groups, but we will rely on the findings of our investigations,” he said.

He confirmed that the two men arrested during the operation were Eric Mungarenzi (25) and Stinyi Kambanje (40), who are both foreign residents from Zimbabwe. The two briefly appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate´s Court on Monday and were charged with smuggling illegal cigarettes. The case was postoned to October 26, and the pair was not granted bail.

Malelo said investigations were continuing.