Seven Home Affairs Department employees have been arrested for forming part of a suspected passport fraud syndicate. The arrest of these individuals by the Home Affairs Department and the Hawks Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation will be followed by their appearance at the Durban Specialized Commercial Crimes Court yesterday (Tuesday) for trial. The Hawks also arrested two more suspects in an ongoing clampdown on passport fraud. This increased the original number of five to seven accused over the weekend. All seven of the suspects from various part of Durban, will be on trial for various charges of corruption, fraud, contravention, of the immigration Act, as well as contravention of the Identification Act.
According to the Hawks’ Colonel Katlego Mogale, “The Serious Corruption Investigation component of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, based in Pretoria, has arrested an additional two suspects in the ongoing operation that began on June 14 in KwaZulu-Natal, bringing the number to seven. “The execution operation emanates from a complaint from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) relating to the issuance of fraudulent passports to undocumented foreign nationals. The allegations reported serious offences include corruption, fraud, and contraventions of the Identification Act and Immigration Act that took place between February 2020 and July 2023, wherein a 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 branch. These unlawful activities took place outside of regular business hours, including evenings, weekends and public holidays, when the DHA offices were officially closed.
The arrest of the gang of seven suspects involved in the creation and manufacture of fraudulent passports show that crime will always come back to haunt those who participate in it. The Hawks are South Africa’s highest investigative and law enforcement agency since the dissolution of their predecessors the Scorpions. The issuance of fraudulent passports is a serious crime that can create significant confusion amongst Home Affairs officials as they lead to the creation of false identities. This could be especially true of criminals such as those responsible for murder. The Hawks have done some excellent work in closing in on this criminal network and now those responsible will face justice. Hopefully this goes a long way in discouraging others from being tempted to commit the same crimes. The fact that the gang was able to forge the passports in their own time show their dedication to the crime.
They were possibly being bribed a significant amount of money.
Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Colonel Katlego Mogale stated that several arrest warrants have been secured and are being executed in relation to the complaint. She stated that the offences occurred between February 2020 and July 2023. “A 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 branch.” These unlawful activities occurred outside regular business hours, including evenings, weekends, and public holidays, when the Department of Home Affairs offices were officially closed. “Preliminary investigations by the Department of Home Affairs confirmed that the criminal activities were indeed conducted off-hours, where local citizens offered R300 to R1,000 in exchange for their cooperation, especially at Department of Home Affairs offices in Isipingo, Durban Central, and Eshowe, resulting in a case being opened for investigation by the Serious Corruption Investigation.”
The seriousness of this crime which took place at DHA offices in the Durban area and being spread out over a broad network shows that this was carried out by state employees possibly with the assistance of management. The investigation and trial of the seven accused is still ongoing and more details will come to light. According to Colonel Katlego Mogale of the Hawks, the DHA in KwaZulu-Natal had filed a complaint with her Directorate and following up the investigations the arrest warrants were made. At least seven members of this network were arrested, more could follow. This illicit network of Home Affairs civil servants seemed to have its tentacles spread over significant areas in the eThekwini region. The price for these passport forgeries which range from R300 to R1000 shows the greed of these officials. They were soliciting bribes using the government department they were meant to serve.
Now the seven accused will find themselves locked in prison.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
