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Two Ethiopian Nationals and a South African were arrested and detained in Eerstehoek in Mpumalanga this week on charges of fraud and theft.
The spokesperson for the Hawks Captain Dineo Sekgotodi says according to their information the foreign nationals. 38-year-old Mike Abete and 44-year-old Abdo Musa colluded with an alleged bogus Home Affairs official, 45-year-old Lindiwe Kubheka stamping expired passports.
She says an operation was initiated in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act and one suspect, and Abete was paid R20 000 to stamp expired passports.
The undercover Hawks agreed to collection but when Abate did not show up, arrest warrants were issued.
Captain Sekgotodi says their investigation led them to discover a considerable amount of documents from the Department of Transport and Home Affairs.
She says this led to the arrest of his co-accused.
The documents will be handed to the departments for analysis.
Captain Sekgotodi says during questioning, Abete disclosed that the money and passports were given to Abdo Musa and when he was approached, he agreed that he received the passports and R5000-00 from Mike Abete which was then handed to Lindiwe Kubheka.
She says they approached Kubheka who confirmed that passports and R2500-00 were received by her.
The team conducted a search and seizure operation and three passports were found as well as seized.
The accused appeared before the Eerstehoek Magistrates Court at Elukwatini on Tuesday, 17 September 2024.
They were granted R3 000 bail each and the case was postponed to 5 November 2024 for further investigation.
