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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau

THE case against a 44-year-old Zimbabwean man who was recently caught smuggling Remington Gold cigarettes worth R14 million into South Africa has been set for formal bail application on February 6 at the Musina Magistrates’ Court, in Limpopo province.

Jaint Janos Bimha was arrested on January 18, 2025, after he was allegedly found in possession of illicit cigarettes at the Beitbridge Border Post.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson for Limpopo, Ms Mashudu Malabi Dzhangi, said Bimha briefly appeared at court on Monday where the case was postponed for formal bail application.

“The case has been set for bail application on February 6,” she said.
Limpopo police spokesperson, Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba, said last week that Bimha was driving a white truck with a tanker trailer when he was stopped by the police at the port of entry.

Cigarettes

He said the man told police that it was empty but they suspected it to be loaded and it was taken to the ramp zone at the commercial side and searched.

During the search, he said, the police discovered that it was fully loaded with illicit cigarettes of Remington Gold brand and the man failed to provide satisfactory explanation regarding the origin of the cigarettes and he was immediately placed under arrest on the spot.

“We have since confiscated 710 boxes of Remington Gold illicit cigarettes with an estimated street value of R14 449 363 and a truck tanker valued at R2 500 000,” he said.

Smuggling of cigarettes has become a perennial headache for authorities for both countries who in most cases are collaborating to minimise the vice.

South African customs laws are viewed as restrictive for Zimbabwean exporters to legally move the cigarettes from Zimbabwe to that country hence an upsurge in the smuggling of various brands, observers say.

In most cases, these are being smuggled through the Limpopo River while others take their chances at the border.
Indications are that at least one third of cigarette brands on the South African market are smuggled from Zimbabwe including Pacific, Remington Gold, Mega, Dullahs, Branson and Servilles.