Hawks Arrest 14 Mpumalanga Traffic Officers for Fraudulent Driver’s and Vehicle Licences

• An undercover operation resulted in the arrests of 14 traffic officials, including an owner of a driving school, in Mpumalanga on Monday, 16 September 2024
• Unofficial driving and car licences are believed to be contributing to the province’s high fatality rate
• Three undercover teams worked in Graskop, Sabie, Lydenburg to obtain evidence of unlawful activities

MPUMALANGA—A two-year prosecution-led process led SAPS to arrest 14 people involved in fraudulent driver and car licence activities in Mpumalanga.

The Road Traffic Management Anti-Corruption Unit (NTACU), the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) and Police Crime Intelligence in Mpumalanga jointly conducted the operation.

Licence examiners suspected of fraud

Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, a spokeslady for the Mpumalanga Hawks, stated the testing examiners were issuing driver’s and learner licences to the public who didn’t even go through the testing process, or the examiner writing tests on their behalf.

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A written test with a passing mark is required for learner's licences. However, licences are sometimes issued without the individual written test being submitted to the licensing department.

In a similar scenario, motor vehicle licences were issued without the car even being put through the roadworthiness test.

An undercover network was used to identify the fraudulent activities. An agent would go and pay to have the licence obtained illegally and thereby collect evidence, which led to arrests.

Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) spokesperson Simon Zwane said that examiners and driving schools were also involved in fraudulent activity.

“Nine suspects were identified and warrants of arrest were issued. Eight of these are examiners in Sabie, Graskop and Lydenburg, and one owns a driving school in Sabie. This morning, we arrested four examiners, two in Sabie and two in Graskop, as well as the driving school owner. In addition, we also arrested four traffic officers who had accepted bribes from motorists in the Verena area,”

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Mzanzi respond to examiner arrests

South Africans banded together to support the efforts to rid the country of corruption or fraudulent activities.

@Dailybreezeza sums up the public’s thoughts:

"Get rid of corruption."

@RNaidoo says it’s not only in Mpumalanga:

"This is going on at every licensing center in the country. Just go to Langlaagte DLTC for one and see how many guys hanging around outside offering services without even going into the offices🤦🏻‍♂️"

@082997 agrees with the above citizen:

"But this happens at every station."

11 Arrested for corruption on N1 highway

Briefly News reported in a related article that SAPS apprehended traffic officers on suspicion of accepting bribes from bus operators, taxi drivers and motorists. The alleged corruption occurred along the N1 highway between Polokwane and Musina.

Authorities have been investigating the officials since March 2022 as part of a covert operation dubbed ‘Coconut'.

Source: Briefly News