From Smokes to School Desks: Mpumalanga Company Punished for Illicit Cigarette Trade

In a rare sentence, justice meets community upliftment in Mpumalanga cigarette case

A fine, a furniture order, and a fresh start for local learners.

What started as a criminal investigation into counterfeit cigarettes has ended with an unexpected twist: hundreds of schoolchildren in Mpumalanga will soon sit at brand-new desks, courtesy of a convicted local business.

The Evander Regional Court has handed down a unique sentence to Uptown Superstore, a business found guilty of trafficking in illicit cigarettes. Instead of only imposing the usual financial penalty, the court has ordered the company to provide 504 high-quality double-seater desks to four schools in the Highveld Ridge education circuit and they’ve got just three months to do it.

Alongside this, the company must pay a hefty R600,000 fine for breaking South Africa’s tobacco, customs, and VAT laws.

The bust that sparked it all

The roots of this case stretch back to September 2024, when investigators from the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime unit raided the store. They seized 4,710 packets of counterfeit cigarettes valued at just over R100,000. That raid led to the arrest of 42-year-old Riaz Moolla, after a court-issued warrant landed him in cuffs.

Nearly a year later, two more individuals, 62-year-old Fatima Moolla and 67-year-old Suliman Ismail Moolla were also brought before the court. But despite their initial charges, all three had their individual cases withdrawn. Instead, the law zeroed in on their company.

Corporate conviction, community consequence

According to police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, Uptown Superstore was convicted of violating three major laws: the Tobacco Products Control Act, the Customs and Excise Act, and the VAT Act.

What’s unusual is how the court responded. Rather than limit punishment to fines, it issued a ruling that directly benefits local schools, a creative approach that blends legal accountability with meaningful restitution.

“The criminals are again out of pocket, but this time the community wins,” said Major General Nico Gerber, provincial head of the Hawks. “It’s an interesting sentence, and one that meets the needs of the next generation.”

A sentence the community can sit on

The desks, durable, double-seaters designed for long-term classroom use will be delivered to four unnamed schools in the Highveld Ridge area. In a province where many learners still sit on the floor or share tattered furniture, this punishment carries real impact.

The move is part of a broader shift in how South African courts sometimes apply “restorative justice,” particularly in cases involving businesses. Rather than only handing out fines or prison time, the courts are increasingly looking for creative ways to return value to the communities harmed by corporate misconduct.

Public reaction: justice that fits

On social media, many South Africans praised the unusual sentence. One Facebook user wrote, “This is how we want our justice system to work, not just punishment, but progress.” Others called for similar penalties in cases involving illegal mining, environmental damage, and financial fraud.

Still, some questioned whether the individuals behind the company should have been held more accountable. “So the directors walk free while the company pays? That doesn’t sit right,” commented a Twitter user.

A lesson beyond the law

While the fine might hit Uptown Superstore’s bottom line, it’s the schoolchildren who stand to gain the most. For them, justice has taken a physical form: a solid desk, a dedicated seat, and maybe a little more pride in their daily classroom experience.

In the end, this isn’t just a story about fake cigarettes and fines, it’s about turning wrongdoing into something useful. And in South Africa’s often crowded and under-resourced public schools, that kind of justice is worth its weight in timber and steel.

{Source: The Citizen}

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