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If you had said to a rational person that South Africans would be forced to buy their booze and smokes on the black market, and only the black market, by the end of July, you would have received an odd glance.

Yet, here we are, with South Africa’s illicit cigarette trade booming, and neighbourhood WhatsApp groups now filled with coded communications like ‘adult grape juice’ and ‘cooldrink with Bell’s on’.

I’ll take six of one and half a dozen of the other, thanks.

Sometimes, the selling doesn’t even take place away from the public eye, with a TimesLIVE investigation into South Africa’s illicit market showing widespread availability, and even some alleged cop participation.

Here’s Lawrence (not his real name), talking about how he acquires and sells his goods:

“I am selling Smirnoff 1818. I usually get a bottle for R250 from my supplier and I sell it for R350 or R450, depending on who the client is. Myself and the other guy who is also selling, we usually buy a box that contains 12 bottles. We split the bottles and take six each.”

…“If you buy one bottle — because I take a risk and travel with it, I charge R450. If I get caught, I pay the police.

“My brother was caught and he gave them [police] money and a bottle of vodka and they let him go. Some cops buy from him when they want to drink,” he alleged.

Being a South African police officer is an incredibly tough task, and I can’t blame them for wanting a post-work tipple to soothe the nerves, but allegations that they’re buying directly from illicit suppliers, and taking bribes, is representative of a wider, systemic corruption issue.

Lawrence says he sells in public, approaching those he reckons are “safe” to talk with.

Bheki (again, not his real name) also spoke with TimesLIVE about his trade in wine, vodka and gin:

Asked if he was not scared of being caught, he said: “I’m not because we drink with some of the police officers.

“The trick is to not stock too much because when they confiscate your alcohol, you will lose a lot of money. When I go buy, I carry a small amount of alcohol with me and I go back to fetch the rest in batches.”

Why buy booze when you can confiscate it, right?

It’s like 2020’s South African version of ‘Don’t buy drugs. Become a pop star, and they give you them for free.’

News of police sipping on gin and juice won’t come as a surprise, especially when you consider what we saw during the funeral of anti-apartheid veteran Andrew Mlangeni.

These SANDF members have shown remarkable self-restraint to make their legally acquired cigarettes last this long:

Considering the #tobaccoban on legal tobacco products that is destroying thousands of jobs, and harming millions of consumers… how did these officers get cigarrettes? #LiftTheBanSA #saveourjobs @LIFTTHEBAN_SA pic.twitter.com/Ren4PZZ44b

— SATobaccoAlliance (@TTASouthAfrica) July 29, 2020

That, or the other, entirely more plausible explanation.

The reaction on Twitter was as to be expected:

So these comrades just had a lifetime supply of cigarettes… pic.twitter.com/bYFhYA53xD

— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) July 29, 2020

We now know without a doubt where the cigarettes confiscated by the SAPS and SANDF from local shops go. pic.twitter.com/K3HfpJO98A

— Lorenzo White (@IAmLorenzoWhite) July 29, 2020

Didn’t General Bheki Cele say that anyone caught smoking in public would have to produce the receipt to prove they bought it before lockdown?

Bloody hypocrites! https://t.co/UkBSSpljuY

— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) July 29, 2020

As always, one rule for them, and another for us.

[source:timeslive]