Fake passport syndicate
worms its way deep into Home Affairs
Sunday World – 6 Apr 2022
https://sundayworld.co.za/news/fake-passport-syndicate-worms-its-way-deep-into-home-affairs/
An
explosive report prepared by the Department of Home Affairs’ top brass has
lifted the lid on the extent to which the recently uncovered fake passport
syndicate has penetrated the department, which is a “serious” security breach
for the republic.
On
Thursday, members of the Home Affairs Counter Corruption Branch and Hawks
arrested a Pakistani man at the Cape Town International Airport for suspected
fraudulent activities that include the production of bogus passports.
Majid
Hussain, who was trying to flee South Africa, appeared in the Bellville
Magistrate’s Court this week on charges of fraud, corruption, contravention of
the Immigration Act, and the possession of suspected fraudulent documents.
Last
week, another Pakistani man, the kingpin of the syndicate, along with his wife
and 29 others, was arrested after a raid at the department’s Krugersdorp
offices.
It has
now emerged that the criminal network – which includes 13 foreigners and 13 South
Africans – spanned Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape,
and Mpumalanga.
A
confidential report we have seen shows that the syndicate has been working with
security guards and corrupt department officials to gain access to offices throughout
the country and produce fraudulent documents outside working hours, at times in
the wee hours of the morning.
The
report, prepared for Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, shows that at the Maponya Mall
in Soweto, three officials – who include an office manager – involved in the
scam helped more than 50 foreigners obtain fake passports. At the Germiston
office, two officials have helped 15 foreigners get fraudulent passports.
In
KwaZulu-Natal, two officials have assisted five foreigners at the Ndwedwe office;
at the Durban medium office in Commercial Road, seven foreigners were assisted
by two officials to get fake documents; and an official at the Tongaat office
was identified as helping a foreigner get a bogus passport.
The
report further says that seven foreigners and a South African were transported
from Gauteng to the Mpumalanga White River office to obtain counterfeit
passports in a transaction that happened at 4 am.
Other
places where the syndicate operates include the Vereeniging large office, where
an official has already assisted seven foreigners to get passports through the
photo swapping scam, while in the Western Cape’s Nyanga and Atlantis offices,
officials have been fingered for working with the criminals to issue fake
passports to seven foreigners.
Sunday
World understands more arrests are expected this week in connection with the
syndicate that has been behind the so-called “photo swap”, which operated
nationally using vulnerable young people who sold their identities to
foreigners, effectively removing the locals from the population register.
In the
scam, South Africans are ferried at night to a Home Affairs office. Officials
then help the kingpin access the details of the South African through his
fingerprints. The South African’s photo is then replaced with a picture of a
foreign national. The photo-swapping scandal is not only compromising the
security of the country but has the potential to become an issue for South
Africans wishing to travel abroad.
“If the
problem of photo swapping in the passport application process is not addressed
urgently, it will result in further visa restrictions to the country and the
security of the country [being] compromised,” the report states.
In
September last year, two foreigners were arrested at the Cape Town
International Airport for being in possession of fake passports. It later
transpired they were working in cahoots with Home Affairs officials and the
matter was reported to the police.
“Our
efforts to close loopholes in the passport processes, however, also resulted in
criminals changing their modus operandi to acquire South African enabling
documents. Four Cameroonians recently acquired South African passports with the
assistance of South Africans who displayed similar looks and features
[so-called lookalikes],” the report notes.
A
high-ranking Home Affairs official said they had found that most of the
counterfeit passports were sold to Pakistanis. “We want to get rid of the
security companies that were complicit. This is a serious security breach,” he
said.
Last
week, the ANC national executive committee (NEC) supported measures by
Motsoaledi to ensure effective border management, strengthen Home Affairs
systems to prevent illegal activities, and address equitable access to
employment for SA citizens.
“It [the
NEC] urges citizens who have legitimate concerns regarding the presence of
illegal and undocumented immigrants to work with the relevant authorities to
ensure that our laws are implemented.
“The ANC
calls upon law enforcement and other agencies to act against both illegal and
undocumented immigrants, unscrupulous employers, and corrupt officials who fail
to enforce our laws.”
The
integrity of the South African passport has come under the spotlight and
resulted in the UK introducing a strict passport regime for South Africans
seeking entry into the UK
www.samigration.com
