Скачать или смотреть Bogus Home Affairs official and two Ethiopian nationals arrested for passport fraud

Bogus Home Affairs official and two Ethiopian nationals arrested for passport fraud
A bogus home affairs employee was arrested in Secunda for allegedly colluding with two Ethiopian nationals in passport fraud and theft, the Mpumalanga Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks) said.

The arrest comes after a tip-off was received that Lindiwe Kubheka, 45, was allegedly working with two Ethiopian nationals, Abdo Mustefu Musa, 44, and Mike Alex Abete, 38, to stamp expired passports.

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Provincial Hawks spokesperson, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said after the information was received, an undercover operation was initiated and Abete was paid R20,000 to stamp expired passports.

“An agreement was reached for the collection of the stamped passports but Abete did not honour the agreement,” said Sekgotodi.

“A warrant of arrest as well as a search-and-seizure were authorised then subsequently executed on Monday, September 16, 2024.”

Sekgotodi said that during the search, police found a large amount of documents from the department of home affairs as well as the department of transport.

“The documents will be handed to the departments for analysis.”

During questioning, Abete disclosed that the R20,000 and passports were given to Musa and when Musa was approached, he admitted to receiving passports and R5,000 from Abete which he then handed to Kubheka.


Kubheka was approached and she told police that she only received passports and R2,500.

“The team conducted a search and seizure operation and three passports were found as well as seized,” said Sekgotodi.

Sekgotodi said the trio appeared before the Eerstehoek Magistrate’s Court at Elukwatini on Tuesday and were released on R3,000 bail each.


They are expected back in court on November 5, 2024.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) swooped on two suspects caught red-handed in a large-scale illegal sand mining operation in Mopani District in Limpopo on the evening of September 17.

The bust, which occurred just before nightfall, was part of Operation Vala Umgodi, a joint effort by the Crime Intelligence Unit and the Mopani Illegal Mining Task Team, aimed at cracking down on the rampant sand theft threatening the region’s natural resources.


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“At about 5.55pm, police were deployed to monitor trucks that were driving into the mining sites being loaded with sand,” said police spokesperson, colonel Malesela Ledwaba.

The suspects, aged 26 and 43, arrested while allegedly operating an excavator and a tipper truck near the Klein Letaba River. Police were initially assigned to check trucks approaching mining sites. The breakthrough occurred after police were tipped off about unauthorised activity.

“Police tactically approached the mining site and blocked all possible exits for the suspects not to evade an arrest.”

The officers ensured that the suspects could not escape by securing the keys to the machinery used for the illegal operation. Upon arrival, they found an excavator actively loading sand into a tipper truck.

The suspects failed to present legitimate mining permits when questioned by the police, resulting in their immediate arrest. Police confiscated both the excavator and truck used in the crime.

"The two male suspects are expected to appear before the Giyani Magistrate’s Court soon, facing a charge of illegal mining of sand," Ledwaba said.