Man shot after Gauteng chopper chase

[LazyLion]

A suspected car thief was shot and wounded following a police chase which included a helicopter near the Murrayhill toll plaza in Pretoria on Tuesday, Gauteng police said.

The chase started when police spotted a suspicious-looking Toyota Fortuner in Bronkhorstspruit, Lieutenant Kay Makhubela said.

"They followed the car and it went on to the N1 freeway... A chopper also assisted in trying to stop the car."

The car went through the toll plaza, then returned to the N1.

The helicopter blocked the car's way and fired shots at it, causing it to stop behind the toll gate.

"When the police opened the car it was full of fake cigarettes."

One of the two occupants, both Zimbabwean, was wounded and taken to hospital, where he remains under police guard.

The other was arrested and would appear in court soon to face charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and illicit cigarettes.


Source : Sapa /mjs/jk/jje
Date : 17 Mar 2015 14:32

 

[Flanders]

Suspicious-looking fortunas? Fake cigarettes? What's next I wonder?

 

[ToxicBunny]

Well good on the cops for doing something like this..

But Fake Cigarettes needing a helicopter?! :wtf: They should be hunting more important criminals.

 

[schumi]

Well good on the cops for doing something like this..

But Fake Cigarettes needing a helicopter?! :wtf: They should be hunting more important criminals.

Well they just chased the suspicious car with assistance of the helicopter when it did not stop , and then found the fake cigarettes.They could have found murders , stolen goods.

 

[Electron1]

Cigarettes can kill.
Bet they weren't expecting from bullets though.

 

[Nerfherder]

Well good on the cops for doing something like this..

But Fake Cigarettes needing a helicopter?! :wtf: They should be hunting more important criminals.

Crime is crime.

I think the thing about the fake cigs is that they are a big target for money laundering. They don't cost much but because of high taxes on smokes they have a lot of value.
Its an easy way to flip 1 mil in to 10 mil.

Organised crime funds other crimes on this.

 

[karnuffel]

Well good on the cops for doing something like this..

But Fake Cigarettes needing a helicopter?! :wtf: They should be hunting more important criminals.

Ive read before that criminals use cigarette smuggling to fund other crimes, cant for the life of me remember where though.

 

[marine1]

Illegal cigarettes fund organised crime, just ask Mr Agliotti, its big business and a lot of people die for it

 

[Vegeta]

stolen vehicle

This is the most important part, someone was probably killed for it.

 

[Hemi300c]

Well done SAPS lets hope a conviction and harsh sentence follows.

 

[marine1]

Well done SAPS lets hope a conviction and harsh sentence follows.

Doubt it

 

[dlk001]

Illegal cigarettes fund organised crime, just ask Mr Agliotti, its big business and a lot of people die for it

Absolutely. Same as buying pirated dvds at flea markets.

 

[grok]

One of the two occupants, both Zimbabwean, was wounded and taken to hospital, where he remains under police guard

Just keeping that faltering Zim economy going for the everlasting benefit of their glorious dictator! :twisted:

 

[reactor_sa]

More useless immigrants, Zimbabweans doing dirty work for even more useless Nigerians....

 

[Progenix Oj101]

If illegal cigarettes are so profitable that they're used to fund other crimes, why not just stick to illegal cigarettes?

 

[reactor_sa]

If illegal cigarettes are so profitable that they're used to fund other crimes, why not just stick to illegal cigarettes?

Do you honestly believe any cigarettes could be more profitable than drugs the Nigerians are peddling??...

 

[JimmyRott]

Crime is crime.

I think the thing about the fake cigs is that they are a big target for money laundering. They don't cost much but because of high taxes on smokes they have a lot of value.
Its an easy way to flip 1 mil in to 10 mil.

Organised crime funds other crimes on this.

How is that money laundering though? You're just sitting with more money that you can't account for.

 

[Nerfherder]

How is that money laundering though? You're just sitting with more money that you can't account for.

Well they just inflate stock with illegal stock. But mostly it's just used to fund other crime

 

[JimmyRott]

Do you honestly believe any cigarettes could be more profitable than drugs the Nigerians are peddling??...

It seems very plausible (maybe even likely) to me. Consider the numebrer of smokers and the average price of a packet of cigarettes. Production cost on the cigarettes is extremely low, that leaves very high margins and an easy distribution network (spaza shops etc.). Drugs are more difficult to produce and come with a much higher distribution cost as you have to pay the runner (the final guy that sells the drugs) a fee to accept the risk of dealing illicit substances, each runner is limited by the amount of people that he can personally see per day, where the spaza shops can sell the cigarettes to almost everyone that walks past.

 

[Nerfherder]

Do you honestly believe any cigarettes could be more profitable than drugs the Nigerians are peddling??...

Yes, any spaza shop can sell cigarettes. Much less risk than drugs