"Warning. Smoking Kills!" It also corrupts law enforcement officials and eviscerates state institutions. It devours politicians, professionals, business people and ordinary workers in the chase for big bucks and the battle for a slice of an ever-shrinking cigarette market.
Join one of South Africa's former tax sleuths, Johann van Loggerenberg, in a wild ride through the double-dealing world of tobacco's colourful characters and ruthless corporates. Meet the femme fatales, mavericks, mercenaries and grandmasters, and learn how the crime-busting unit led by van Loggerenberg at SARS and its "Project Honey Badger" became a victim of war between industry players and a high-stakes political game driven by state capture.
This is the tale of a few good men and women who dared to try to hold to account a billion-dollar international industry rife with private spy networks, tax evasion, collusion and corruption - ultimately at great cost to themselves and South Africa.