Hawks arrest five suspects in Durban in connection with fraudulent passport syndicate

Five people were arrested in Durban on Saturday in connection with a fraudulent passport syndicate involving home affairs employees, foreign nationals and a group of locals. 

Hawks national spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale said the Hawks’ serious corruption investigation component had secured a number of arrest warrants which were executed in Durban on Saturday.

“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 of serious offences include corruption, fraud and contraventions of the Identification Act and Immigration Act that took place 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 took place outside regular business hours, including evenings, weekends and public holidays when the DHA offices were officially closed.”

He said preliminary investigations by the DHA confirmed the criminal activities where locals were offered R300 to R1,000 in exchange for their co-operation at DHA offices in Isipingo, Durban Central and Eshowe.

The five suspects arrested in various parts of Durban will face charges of corruption, fraud, contravention of the Immigration Act and contravention of the Identification Act. They will appear in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Durban on Tuesday, he said.

Seven DHA officials and 31 others have been arrested between September 2022 to date in connection with this syndicate. Of these, 24 — including four DHA officials — have been convicted and sentenced to a combined sentence of 310 years’ imprisonment.

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