A Mpumalanga store found guilty of selling illicit cigarettes has been fined R600,000 and ordered to buy 504 durable, high-quality double-seater desks for local schools.
Initially, the shopkeeper and two directors of the business were charged but charges were withdrawn against the individuals after the company directors entered a plea bargain with the state, and only the company was charged.
According to Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Col Magoseni Nkosi, more than 4,000 packets of illicit cigarettes valued at R107,700 were seized during a raid in September 2024.
The shopkeeper, Riaz Moolla, 42, was arrested by the Hawks Secunda-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit.
The two company directors, Fatima Moolla, 62, and Suliman Ismail Moolla, 67, were also charged.
The provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Maj-Gen Nico Gerber commended the investigation team, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the judiciary for their hard work on the case.
“It is an interesting sentence. Criminals are again out of pocket due to their crimes. The community is benefiting from this sentence, and it will definitely help the next generation in their education,” Gerber said.
The company was sentenced for contravention of the Tobacco Products Act, contravention of the Customs and Excise Act and contravention of the VAT Act.
The company was given three months to comply with the judgment.
TimesLIVE
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