Mapaballo Borotho

Five suspects linked to a passport fraud syndicate are expected to appear at the Durban Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday, 17 June 2025.
The group was arrested over the long weekend by the Department of Home Affairs at its uMngeni and Commercial Road offices in Durban.
This weekend, Home Affairs and law enforcement arrested 5 people from a suspected syndicate involved in passport fraud. Our strategy of clamping down on criminals, while using technology to close loopholes they exploit, is how we will ultimately win the war against corruption. pic.twitter.com/x1E9ZW7MJ1
— Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) June 16, 2025
The arrests come months after Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber raised concerns about South Africa becoming a “syndicate society” and vowed to dismantle corrupt networks within the department.
Among those arrested are a former Home Affairs official from the Prospecton office, a municipal project volunteer based at the Commercial Road office, and three members of the public. One of the suspects was caught with 226 stolen passports, believed to have been taken from the uMngeni office.
Another suspect was found with keys to both the Prospecton and Commercial Road Home Affairs offices, along with copies of identity documents that did not belong to him.
The department says investigations are currently underway as there are two more suspects that are believed to be part of the syndicate.
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