Motsoaledi applauds passport syndicate bust in Krugersdorp

South African Minister of Home Affairs, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, has commended the officials involved in the bust of a passport syndicate in Krugersdorp.

Motsoaledi was speaking at the Krugersdorp syndicate takedown operation last night, where a kingpin and two other officials from the department were arrested. This includes 13 foreign nationals and 13 South Africans.

Motsoaledi explained that what the syndicate was doing is referred to as photo swapping or using the details of a South African to apply for a passport, and then interfering with the system to insert a picture of a foreign national, instead of a South African.

Motsoaledi said he is proud of the vigilant and dedicated employees of Home Affairs and partner law enforcement agencies, adding that these are the officers who are demonstrating their patriotism through their deeds, not just words.

“Let me remind South Africans and the rogue employees in Home Affairs that our fight against fraud and corruption, at all levels, is relentless and ferocious. It is a war we are determined not to lose.

“We identified the kingpin after an alert immigration officer picked up anomalies with two passports of people who wanted to leave the country via the Cape Town International Airport. That official handed over the two people and their passports to the police,” he said.

Subsequent investigations led the police to a kingpin who has businesses in Gauteng. They then spent some time observing how this syndicate operated.

“It is alleged that the kingpin bought cars for his lieutenants, presumably to enable them to be at his disposal, day and night. In other words, the lieutenants were always available to the kingpin whenever he needed them,” Motsoaledi said.

It is also alleged that South Africans were recruited for as little as R500, plus they were promised jobs overseas which, of course, never materialised.

The lieutenants are said to have pocketed between R5 000 and R10 000 per passport, while the kingpin allegedly charged anything from R40 000 a passport to any foreign national who wanted to acquire passports they don’t qualify for.

“I am confident that the law enforcement officers have done a good job. Their investigations benefitted from the fingerprint-enabled authentication of transactions, which was introduced to precisely fight corruption,” the Minister said.

Motsoaledi assured South Africans that there is going to be no space for rogue elements in the Department of Home Affairs.