South Africa’s illicit cigarette problem has grown from a peripheral criminal trade into a serious threat to legitimate businesses, employment and the national fiscus. Increasingly, criminal syndicates are not merely smuggling unknown products into the country—they are counterfeiting established brands and exploiting the reputation built by lawful South African manufacturers.
Polaris Manufacturing, one of the country’s largest independent tobacco manufacturers, has become a particular target. Counterfeit versions of its well-known Remington Gold range and other Polaris brands are increasingly appearing in the market. These products imitate the branding and packaging of genuine cigarettes but are manufactured and distributed entirely outside Polaris’s authorised supply chain.
The scale of the problem was illustrated by a major seizure in Durban in early September 2026.
According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, a joint operation involving the Hawks’ Durban Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit and Customs resulted in two containers being inspected at the SACD container depot. The operation, conducted on 2 September, uncovered counterfeit cigarettes bearing the Sharp, Dunhill and Caesar trademarks.
The investigation had reportedly begun in December 2025, after authorities received information about a suspicious container. Investigators subsequently discovered that the same importing company had brought a second container into the country. Samples from both containers were submitted to brand specialists, who confirmed that the cigarettes were counterfeit. The combined consignment was valued at more than R41 million.
The discovery of counterfeit Sharp cigarettes is particularly significant because Sharp is manufactured by Polaris. A container-load of fake products bearing its trademark represents more than a lost sale: it is an attack on the company’s intellectual property, its reputation and the confidence consumers place in its brands.
Criminal manufacturers assume none of the responsibilities carried by legitimate businesses. They do not account to SARS for excise duties and taxes. They do not maintain lawful factories, employ South African workers or comply with the extensive regulatory obligations imposed on licensed tobacco manufacturers. Yet they profit by copying the brands that compliant manufacturers have spent years building.
Counterfeit cigarettes can also cause lasting reputational harm. Consumers who unknowingly purchase a fake packet may blame the legitimate brand owner for an inferior, inconsistent or potentially contaminated product that the company neither manufactured nor distributed. In this way, counterfeiters take the value of a trusted trademark while transferring the commercial and reputational consequences to its lawful owner.
The distinction between counterfeit cigarettes and genuine products allegedly sold at suspiciously low prices is therefore essential. Price alone cannot establish whether a cigarette is illicit or whether its manufacturer has failed to pay tax. A packet bearing a recognised trademark may be counterfeit, smuggled, stolen, diverted or sold by a retailer at a price determined by circumstances further down the distribution chain.
Recent research has estimated that illicit cigarettes account for approximately 60% of the South African market. However, “illicit” is a broad category and does not mean that every product bearing the name of a South African manufacturer was produced or supplied unlawfully by that manufacturer. Counterfeit and smuggled products must be properly identified and traced before blame is assigned.
Polaris says that it contributes more than R2 billion annually to the South African fiscus through excise duties and other taxes. It also supports hundreds of direct and indirect jobs and sustains a broader network of employees, suppliers, distributors and families. These are tangible contributions to an economy already struggling with unemployment, weak growth and severe pressure on public revenue.
Every counterfeit packet sold under a Polaris trademark undermines that contribution. It diverts revenue away from a legitimate South African manufacturer, deprives the state of taxes and places lawful jobs at risk. At the same time, it enriches criminal networks that contribute nothing to the country whose markets they exploit.
Public support for Polaris does not mean encouraging smoking. It means recognising a basic economic and legal principle: businesses that manufacture lawfully, employ South Africans and pay substantial taxes should be protected against organised criminals who counterfeit their products and destroy the value of their brands.
Retailers and consumers also have an important role to play. Suspicious products, irregular packaging and questionable suppliers should be reported to the authorities and to the legitimate trademark owner. Retailers who knowingly trade in counterfeit cigarettes are not simply offering a cheaper alternative—they are helping sustain a criminal supply chain that damages lawful businesses and deprives South Africa of revenue.
The Durban seizure deserves recognition as an important enforcement success. But two intercepted containers may represent only a fraction of what is entering or circulating within the country. South Africa requires sustained cooperation between the Hawks, SAPS, SARS Customs, port authorities, trademark owners and legitimate manufacturers.
Counterfeiting is not fair competition. It is organised theft: theft of intellectual property, tax revenue, consumer trust and South African jobs.
Companies such as Polaris Manufacturing, which invest locally and contribute billions of rand to the fiscus, should receive the full protection of law-enforcement agencies and the support of the public. The criminals counterfeiting Remington Gold, Sharp and other established brands must be identified, prosecuted and removed from the market before further damage is done to South African industry.
