The Serious Commercial Crime wing of the Hawks in Mthatha arrested five suspects in three separate incidents this week.
All suspects, aged between 40 and 46, were arrested on charges of fraud.
Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Anelisa Feni, said in one of the cases, a 42-year-old woman was arrested on Friday for trying to claim a body from a state motuary for an insurance claim.
She said the suspect, who works at a Forensic Pathology lab, allegedly colluded with three other women who were arrested in January, to move the body of a deceased person from Mthatha to Bizana. The woman is expected to appear in the Mthatha Magistrate court on Monday.
Meanwhile, three people were also arrested by the Hawks and the Crime Intelligence unit on Thursday.
Feni said the suspects were arrested for manufacturing fake identify documents, matric certificates and counterfeit money.
"All fraudulent items were recovered and the suspects are also due to appear in Mthatha Magistrate court on Monday," she said.
In the third incident, a 45-year-old woman appeared in court on Thursday in connection with a car sales scam.
Lieutenant Feni said the suspect was arrested on Wednesday while allegedly attempting to withdraw money at an undisclosed bank which had been deposited by a man from Durban.
She said the man had visited Mthatha that same day to buy a car which he had seen on a website.
Feni said the suspect's boyfriend, who is still at large, is believed to be the middleman in the sale of the car as he allegedly instructed the buyer to deposit money into the suspect's bank account.
"Once the buyer had deposited the money, the seller disappeared," she said.
Feni also said that Hawks in Mthatha were investigating six other cases where the same modus operandi had been used.
The provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Major General Nyameko Nogwanya, said the Hawks "are working hard in ensuring that law-breakers are brought to book."
"Our motto as the Hawks is to investigate and thereafter we arrest. We are working hard to ensure that lawbreakers are forced to face the consequences of their actions in a court of law" he said.
Meanwhile, the OR Tambo District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape, said it is clamping down on fraud and corruption.
Executive mayor, Nomakhosazana Meth, said an internal investigation has identified an employee who allegedly defrauded the Municipality in a petrol card scam.
Meth said it's alleged that the employee had abused the Municipal credit card allocated to a specific vehicle, even while the vehicle was in for repairs.
The Mayor said the matter has been handed over the police for further investigation.
