Tuck shop owner attempts to bribe his way out of arrest by Welkom police

The illicit cigarettes that were seized at a tuck shop in Jan Cilliers Park, Welkom.Photo: SAPS

A Bangladeshi national tried to bribe members of the police with R2 000 when they found him with contraband cigarettes.

On 12 May members of the Welkom Anti-Crime unit were busy with crime prevention when they received information from Crime Intelligence about illicit cigarettes being offloaded at a tuck shop in Jim Fouché Park, Welkom.

The information was operationalised and the tuck shop owner was approached. The police requested permission to search the property, which he granted. A large quantity of illicit cigarettes were found. The foreign national was then arrested, upon which he attempted to bribe the police officers.

The 36-year-old man was subsequently arrested for possession of illicit cigarettes and bribery. He will appear in the Welkom Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 14 May.