Pretoria - A woman will be served with summons to appear in court after the Hawks seized counterfeit snuff from her, branded as the popular Taxi snuff, in Orange Farm, Gauteng.
Hawks’ spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said an operation which began in Midrand led the law enforcement agents to Orange Farm.
“The intellectual property rights section of the Hawks serious commercial crime investigation team at head office in partnership with brand protector experts from Spoor & Fisher Attorneys, Crime Intelligence, Flying Squad and K9 Unit members of the South African Police Service from Sedibeng, in the Vaal Rand area executed a search and seizure disruptive operation on Monday in line with Counterfeit Goods Act 37 of 1997,” Nkwalase said.
“The team initially conducted investigation in Midrand on counterfeit Taxi snuff which led to a fully operational facility at Drieziek Extension 9 in Orange Farm, Gauteng.”
During the search, multiple packets of counterfeit snuff, empty containers, tobacco and other chemicals were found and seized for further investigation.
“The suspect will at the later stage be served with J175 summons to appear in court pending the finalisation of the criminal and civil cases against her, for contravention of the Counterfeit Goods Act,” he said.
In Pretoria, a motorist who was travelling in a red Range Rover was arrested by the tactical unit of Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) after he was found in possession of counterfeit money amounting to R3.5 million.
TMPD spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba, said during an operation, police officers noticed a suspicious convoy including the red Range Rover, two Mercedes-Benz vehicles and a Toyota in Pretoria central on Friday.
“The operation was conducted following a syndicate dealing in money laundering and counterfeit money. During the operation, the officers were following a convoy of suspicious vehicles comprising of a red Range Rover, two Mercedes-Benz and a Toyota Corolla,” Mahamba said.
The TMPD officers intercepted and searched the Range Rover at Arcadia Street. During the search, the officers found a counterfeit R100 note.
“Upon further questioning, the driver led them to the premises at Stanza Bopape Street where more fake money was kept. At the premises, a steel box full of counterfeit money was discovered along with chemicals used to clean the money,” Mahamba said.
“The counterfeit money amounted to more than R3.5m. The officers also discovered that the name of the suspect matches the suspect who was sought for money laundering.”
IOL