Despite the PR, we’re still being looted by tobacco kingpins: The weekly headlines about seizures, arrests and confiscated illicit cigarettes are welcome. But let’s not fool ourselves: these operations are only scratching the surface of a massive criminal industry. Illicit cigarettes are estimated to account for a huge share of the South African market, costing the fiscus billions of rand every year in lost taxes. That is money that should be funding schools, hospitals, housing, infrastructure and policing. Instead, it ends up in the hands of organised criminal networks. We keep seeing the drivers arrested, trucks seized and spaza shops raided. But where are the kingpins? Where are the people manufacturing, financing, distributing and laundering the billions generated by this trade? South Africa needs to follow the money. The National Illicit Economy Disruption Programme is a step in the right direction, but success cannot simply be measured by the number of boxes of cigarettes seized or arrests made. We need major investigations that reach the top of the criminal food chain. The revelations surrounding illicit tobacco networks, including evidence and allegations emerging from the Madlanga Commission, must be properly investigated. Where evidence points to criminality, there must be arrests and prosecutions -regardless of who is involved. SARS must also be given the tools and capacity to monitor tobacco production and ensure that taxes are properly accounted for. This is not simply about cheap cigarettes being sold on street corners. Illicit tobacco is organised crime. It fuels corruption, money laundering and other criminal networks and ultimately ordinary South Africans pay the price. We need the kingpins behind bars. Until the people at the top are held accountable, the war against illicit cigarettes is far from won. My latest opinion piece: “Despite the PR, we’re still being looted by tobacco kingpins.” sundayworld.co.za/news/opini… @SundayWorldZA