“Most were confiscated at the Musina border from people returning from the Christmas holidays in Zimbabwe,” said the source. “More are still being confiscated, but most were taken in early January, when there were large volumes of people coming into this country to start work. This is an ongoing process and more will still be arrested for document fraud.”
Since 2009, SA has swooped on document fraudsters during the beginning of the year, as people rush back to work. People were not immediately arrested, but given forms stating that they should claim their passports in Pretoria.
“When they get there, they will be expected to furnish DHA officials with clear details of where they were born, their parents’ names and those of their traditional leaders,” added the Home Affairs official.
“We cannot immediately arrest people because we know that there are South Africans with business interests in Zimbabwe and they could be traveling there regularly, but it becomes suspicious if more than three quarters of the people who use that border are South Africans.
“Those who fail to prove that they are indeed South African nationals will then be arrested and charged with document fraud, while those who do not claim their documents risk having them cancelled immediately.”
Home Affairs spokesperson, Manusha Pillai, though confirming the seizures, would not immediately give the exact figure of the seized documents, promising to compile the information during the week.
Post published in: News