According to investigators, the man approached two taxi owners in March 2024 and introduced himself as someone with influence in the court system. He allegedly offered to help release their vehicles for R3,000 each.

It’s believed the interpreter used official charge sheets—reportedly stolen from the Thembalethu Court—and forged a magistrate’s signature to make the documents appear legitimate.

Authorities say this led to his arrest by members of the Hawks, who charged him with corruption, fraud, forgery, and uttering. He is expected to make his first court appearance on July 2.

Investigations into how he obtained the documents and whether others were involved are ongoing.

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According to the Hawks Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Katlego Mogale 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 reported serious offences include corruption, fraud, and contraventions of the Identification Act and Immigration Act that took place between February 2020 and July 2023, wherein 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 of regular business hours, including evenings, weekends and public holidays, when the DHA offices were officially closed.

Preliminary investigations by the DHA confirmed that the criminal activities were indeed conducted on off hours where the local citizens offered R300 to R1,000 in exchange for their cooperation especially at DHA offices in Isipingo, Durban Central and Eshowe resulting in a case being opened for investigation by Serious Corruption Investigation.

Thus far a total of thirty-eight (38) individuals have been previously arrested on the matter, between September 2022 to date of which seven (7) are DHA officials whilst thirty-one (31) are private citizens. Twenty-four (24) individuals of whom four (4) are DHA officials have been convicted and sentenced to a combined sentence of three hundred & ten (310) years imprisonment.

The five suspects have been arrested by the Serious Corruption Investigation today in various parts of Durban and will face charges of corruption, fraud, contravention of the Immigration Act; and contravention of the Identification Act.

The suspects will appear before court on Tuesday, 17 June 2025, for their first appearance at the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

The DPCI is not ruling out the possibility of more suspects being arrested.

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