Hawks Arrest Pakistani Man and 2 Home Affairs Officials Behind A Fake Passport Syndicate in Krugersdorp

• The Hawks and the Department of Home Affairs led a sting operation in Krugersdorp in the early hours of Friday morning to crack down on a fake passport ring
• They managed to apprehend a Pakistani man as well as two Home Affairs who are believed to be his close associates
• Some South Africans believe that foreign nationals are being aided by corrupt South Africans to commit crimes

KRUGERSDORP - The masterminds behind a fake passport syndicate have finally been arrested red-handed thanks to a sting operation led by the Department of Home Affairs and the Hawks.

The police operation took place shortly after midnight in Krugersdorp and two Home Affairs officials were arrested alongside the Pakistani man. The Hawks arrested a total of 28 people who are believed to be involved in the elaborate scheme.

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According to TimesLIVE, the arrested mastermind worked alongside other corrupt Home Affairs officials in provinces such as Limpopo, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. The two Home Affairs officials who were arrested alongside the kingpin are reportedly his trusted lieutenants.

How the fake passport syndicate worked

According to the Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi, the mastermind would find foreign nationals who needed South African passports, usually, these foreigners would be Pakistanis.

After finding a certain number of foreigners who wanted passports he would then task someone in his organisation to find the exact number of South Africans to the number of foreign nationals who acquire passports.

They would then use the credentials of these South Africans to create passports using the images of the foreigners.

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More Home Affairs officials to be arrested

Speaking to eNCA, Motsoaledi says the arrested kingpin has caused enormous damage across South Africa through his operation and is responsible for corrupting a number of Home Affairs officials across Mzansi.

Motsoaledi says eight more Home Affairs officials will be arrested in the next few days in connection to their involvement in the syndicate.

"We are aware that they are watching but where will they run to? They are South Africans who are employed. Some of them managers of Home Affairs offices by the way," said Motsoaledi.

The Hawks spokesperson, Carol Mulmu says they retrieved R45 000 in cash which would have been a deposit paid to the Home Affairs to start the process of creating fake passports. They also confiscated a few cars said to have been used in the operations of the syndicate.

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South Africans disappointed in corrupt Home Affairs officials

@Blessed449 said:

"Some of those home Affairs officials, masepa fela, are absolute rubbish. Disatane I hope chelete e ba e tholang e tla ba ja go fitlhela ba swa. Re ka lapa ke bana ba baloyi."

@Siga07160980 said:

"I would bet my life that high ranking officials at home affairs are involved but not included here."

@MokgatlaWaPhoti said:

"This is proof that illegal immigration is enabled by South Africans. If we were all law-abiding citizens, we wouldn't have this "problem". Home Affairs officials, SAPS, restaurant owners, backroom /yard leasers, etc. most of us contribute to this lawlessness."

@Ndimlo69010699 said:

"Are you surprised?"

@KUBANE said:

"Traitors deserve harsh sentences."

@DreamerSib said:

"Thank God there was a raid in that office, I knew something was not right in that Krugersdorp office, I complained, the system is always offline, fought with the stuff and they were rude. I told them their day is coming. I'm happy."

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SA shows gratitude to Aaron Motsoaledi for getting illegal immigrants arrested

Briefly News previously reported that Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi has committed to making sure illegal immigrants do not make their way into the country by setting up roadblocks along the Beitbridge Border Post in Musina, Limpopo.

On Sunday, 2 January, Motsoaledi stated that the roadblocks yielded close to 200 arrests of illegal immigrants who were scheduled to be sent back home.

“This morning already 179 of them were found at the border and they were turned back," said Motsoaledi.

Source: Briefly News