Mpumalanga police have arrested a foreign national who allegedly offered money to an official of the Department of Home Affairs in a bid to get a South African identity document.
According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks), the man had a South African identity document, with his photo attached to it, but with someone else’s details, including names.
“The suspect approached a Home Affairs official to request assistance to apply for a valid identity document as he had obtained employment, and he wanted to open a bank account,” Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said.
“The (Home Affairs) officer told him that he knew someone who could assist. The matter was reported to the department.”
The immigration officer was subsequently included in the set-up to trap the man.
“They met and agreed on the payment date,” said Sekgotodi.
“A sting operation was authorised and executed on Monday, August 28, by the Hawks, Secunda crime intelligence, Bethal detectives and the Department of Home Affairs. The suspect was arrested after signing the application form for an identity document and handing over gratification amounting to R4,000,” she said.
Sekgotodi said the Hawks are still investigating the matter.
The arrested man is today expected to appear before the Bethal Magistrate’s Court.
In March, four accused people were convicted and sentenced by the White River Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga for fraud and corruption in connection with the issuing of South African passports to foreign nationals from Bangladesh and Pakistan.
At the time, Sekgotodi listed the four convicted people as Faud Mohammed Ali, 37, Christopher Marillier, 39, Gabriel Samuel van der Merwe, 33, and 31-year-old Sifiso Kheswa.
“The accused were arrested by the Middelburg-based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation after the exploration linked the accused to the crimes in terms of the Immigration Act.
“During 2021 and 2022, a Department of Home Affairs official allegedly colluded with South African citizens to assist foreign nationals from Pakistan and Bangladesh to obtain South African passports by using their identity documents,” said Sekgotodi.
The foreign nationals would fraudulently replace the South African owners’ photos with theirs and assumed the names of the South African citizens.
IOL