• The search and seizure operation forms part of a probe into allegations of corruption linked to the issuing of asylum and refugee papers to foreign nationals entering South Africa.
• Head of the unit, advocate Andy Mothibi, said information from whistleblowers played a key role in getting the probe off the ground.
It was thanks to information from whistleblowers that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) obtained warrants for Friday morning's nationwide search and seizure operation at home affairs refugee centres.
The SIU simultaneously raided all five home affairs refugee centres on Friday morning as part of a corruption probe linked to the issuing of asylum and refugee papers to foreign nationals entering South Africa.
News24 was present at the large refugee centre in Marabastad, Pretoria, where more than 60 home affairs officials were understood to have been identified as suspects in the investigation.
After the warrant was served, SIU officials quickly moved into the building and entered offices to ensure that no evidence was destroyed or removed.
Home affairs officials were also not allowed to leave their offices, as documents, work computers, and personal cellphones were seized.
SIU officials carefully documented the property seized before they were packaged and taken out of the centre.
This process was emulated at the other four refugee centres in Gqeberha (Eastern Cape), Musina (Limpopo), Durban (KwaZulu-Natal), and Cape Town (Western Cape).
The Head of the SIU, Andy Mothibi, said investigators would now extract all the data from the devices and analyse the evidence to determine which officials were implicated in wrongdoing.
"We are here to secure evidence, which we are aware where to find, and then we can deal with those who are involved and implicated," Mothibi said.
He said it was believed that officials involved in corruption included junior staff, right up to senior management staff.
He said:
That' s how seemingly endemic it is.
He added that once the evidence was analysed, they would proceed with consequence management, including referrals of criminal conduct to the National Prosecuting Authority.
The SIU has also increased its resources in their forensic digital investigation team to deal with the data seized.
Whistleblowers
Mothibi said the whistleblowers played a crucial role in the corruption probe at the refugee centres.
He also assured the public that the SIU was doing all it could to keep the whistleblowers safe and added that it would continue to ensure that measures were put in place to ensure their continued safety.
Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi, who was also present at the raid in Pretoria, spoke about meeting with a whistleblower, which led him to approach the SIU and say that the probe at the refugee centres should be a priority.
The whistleblower also met with Mothibi.
It was whistleblower testimony that also helped the SIU secure warrants for the search and seizure operations.
In February, News24 reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a proclamation authorising a probe into allegations of serious maladministration and corruption spanning 20 years which relate to the issuing of permits and visas.