Former Home Affairs official among five arrested in Durban passport syndicate bust
A weekend raid in Durban has dismantled a fraudulent passport syndicate, leading to the arrest of five people, including a former Home Affairs official. The Hawks seized 266 stolen passports, Home Affairs office keys and other fraudulent documents.
The Department of Home Affairs' (DHA's) bid to rid its ranks of corruption moved ahead this weekend with another round of arrests in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
On Saturday, 14 June, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (The Hawks) arrested five people who were allegedly part of a syndicate involved in passport fraud. Among those arrested was a former Home Affairs official from the DHA's Prospecton office and a municipal project volunteer from the Commercial Street office. The DHA confirmed that three other people were arrested.
The Hawks' Colonel Katlego Mogale said that the arrests came after the DHA raised the alarm on the fraudulent issuing of passports to undocumented foreign nationals. Mogale said the offences, related to corruption, fraud and contraventions of the Identification Act and Immigration Act, occurred between February 2020 and July 2023.
'[The] group of South African citizens allegedly facilitated the fraudulent acquisition of South African passports by foreign nationals at DHA offices in Durban, specifically the Commercial Street [Dr AB Xuma Street] branch. These unlawful activities took place outside of regular business hours, including evenings, weekends and public holidays, when the DHA offices were officially closed,' Mogale said.
Corruption clean-up continues
In a statement, the department said that one of the arrested suspects was found in possession of 266 passports, which had been stolen from the uMngeni Home Affairs office. Additionally, a suspect was found with keys for both the Dr AB Xuma Street and the Prospecton Home Affairs offices.
In addition to the 266 passports, which were allegedly sold for R3,000 each, the Hawks seized divorce decrees, death certificates and application forms for identity documents.
'This latest operation lands another blow in our ongoing cleanup campaign at Home Affairs, which is specifically focused on breaking open criminal syndicates. The details of the case also reaffirm the urgent work we are doing to digitalise all of our processes, so that it becomes impossible for syndicates to penetrate and manipulate our systems.
'This combination of ensuring criminals are arrested and prosecuted, and using digital transformation to close the loopholes they exploit, is how we will ultimately win the war against corruption,' Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said.
Since July 2024, Home Affairs has fired 33 officials for fraud, corruption and related offences as part of a push to get rid of the rot in the DHA. Schreiber has emphasised that the campaign will continue until all corrupt officials are removed and held accountable, with a clear warning that further dismissals and prosecutions are expected as investigations progress.
The suspects are set to appear in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday, 17 June. The DHA revealed that two other syndicate suspects had been identified. The Hawks have assured that more arrests will follow. DM
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