A Welkom man was convicted for being in possession of illicit cigarettes and sentenced to R50 000, or 60 months in jail.
Farhaz Uddin (20) appeared before the Welkom Specialised Commercial Crime Court on 22 November where he was convicted and sentenced for Contravention of the Customs and Excise Act.
On 27 September 2023, members of the Welkom K9 unit received information about a vehicle transporting illicit cigarettes in Welkom. They intercepted the vehicle and discovered 86 master cases of illicit cigarettes with an estimated value of R900 000.
Of the sentence, R35 000 or 42 months were wholly suspended for five years on condition Uddin is not convicted of the same offence in this period.
