Driver gets R200K fine or two years in prison for smuggling fake branded goods into SA

25 June 2023 - 11:19
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A driver for a Mbombela logistics company was found in possession of counterfeit goods near the Lebombo port of entry in November last year. File pic
A driver for a Mbombela logistics company was found in possession of counterfeit goods near the Lebombo port of entry in November last year. File pic
Image: Ziphozonke Lushaba

A truck driver who smuggled fake branded sneakers, sandals and jeans worth over R2.2m from Mozambique into South Africa has been sentenced for 4,435 counts of contravening the Counterfeit Goods Act.

Mpumalanga spokesperson Warrant Officer Thandi Tshabalala said the 37-year-old Zimbabwean national was sentenced on Friday in the Nelspruit specialised commercial crime court.

“He was sentenced to a R200,000 fine or two years' imprisonment of which R100,000 or one year imprisonment is suspended for five years on condition that the accused not be convicted on contravention of the provision of counterfeit goods act offences again in the period of suspension.”

The man, a driver for a Mbombela logistics company, was found in possession of the goods near the Lebombo border post in November last year.

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