Bribe misfires as smuggler is arrested

JOY ORLEK AN ATTEMPT to bribe a SARS investigator over the seizure of counterfeit goods has led to the arrest of a 61-year old suspect. Investigators from the SARS Customs Anti-Smuggling Unit along with the South African Police Service made the arrest last week following a high-profile seizure in Germiston. Customs investigators believe they have made a significant breakthrough in a syndicate specialising in the illicit trade of counterfeit goods. By last Tuesday evening SARS had sealed off 130 storage units in an industrial area in Germiston where 1 500 cartons of master case cigarettes, with an estimated street value of R4.7 million, and 1 900 counterfeit DVDs, computer and Playstation games, with an estimated street value of R3 million, were discovered. The suspect, believed to be a British national, contacted a SARS investigator and offered to pay a bribe of R600 000 in order to avoid arrest. He was apprehended when the money was handed over. He holds a British passport and has a business registered in Zimbabwe. Investigators also seized his motor vehicle with a Zimbabwean registration. Likely charges at this stage may include attempting to corrupt a state official. More arrests are likely.