The Thohoyandou police have arrested three men who have been using a tanker trailer to smuggle illegal cigarettes.

The smugglers, who thought they were a step ahead of the police, received the shock of their lives when observant police intercepted the tanker full of illegal cigarettes and arrested them. The incident happened on the Shadani road at Makonde, about two weeks ago.

The spokesperson for the Thohoyandou police, Major Mashudu Malelo, said the police received information from members of the community that the road was being used by smugglers to smuggle illegal cigarettes. About 1 400 cartons of cigarettes from Zimbabwe, to the value of nearly R120 000, were confiscated.

The three men, aged between 34 and 38 and believed to be Zimbabweans, were taken into custody. During the past month, a 33-year-old man was arrested at Tshififi outside Thohoyandou, with a load of illegal cigarettes valued at more than R200 000.

Malelo said they had the community to thank for the breakthrough. “This is a warning to would-be smugglers: We will search for them wherever they are and arrest them. They have nowhere to hide in our policing area. They will have to think twice when they enter Thohoyandou," he said.

He said it was the first time they discovered cigarettes stashed in a tanker and it had alerted them to the fact that smugglers are using the most sophisticated ways to smuggle cigarettes. “We are winning the war against smuggling. Our success rate tells a story, and with the support we are getting from our communities, we are bound to stamp out this type of crime,” he said.

The police have impounded two vehicles, a Nissan and a Colt bakkie, and the trailer.

A case of dealing in illegal cigarettes has been opened against the three.