The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) confiscated cigarettes worth R1.3 million at the Farazella border, between KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique, on Sunday.

The cigarettes were confiscated during an operation at the border.

"The SANDF members found a white Isuzu bakkie with a KwaZulu-Natal registration number, loaded with 46 boxes of Rothmans cigarettes worth R1.3 million", SANDF spokesperson Captain Jaco Theunissen said.

Theunissen said the three suspects fled during the operation.

No arrests have been made.

The sale of cigarettes is still prohibited under Alert Level 3 lockdown regulations.