Bogus licensing office raided

2003-04-08 23:32

Johannesburg - A man was arrested on Tuesday when police raided a premises in Mayfair which advertised that it organised credit card type licences as well passports and South African IDs, Johannesburg Metro police reported.

Deputy director Conel Mackay said four boxes of application files for conversion to new licences and about 200 credit card drivers licences had been recovered and confiscated.

He said police found out about the outlet after a woman who had applied for the credit card type licence, thinking it was above board, became impatient when it took too long to arrive and approached the police to complain.

During the raid police also discovered Home Affairs stationery and about 70 South African passports as well as temporary South African IDs and ID application forms among other Home Affairs paraphernalia, and notified Home Affairs.

Home Affairs spokesman Leslie Mashokwe confirmed that a Home Affairs investigation team had arrived at the scene and confiscated passports and ID documents as well as a fingerprinting ink pad which only accredited agents are allowed to use.

"We also discovered a cheque for R87 000.50 made out to the Chief Licensing Officer for Johannesburg and Home Affairs stationary which is not allowed to leave Home Affairs premises and Home Affairs stamps were also discovered," he said.

"We asked the man if he was accredited and he said he was not. We will decide after our investigations what charges to lay. It seems he was running a bogus Home Affairs office among other things from his premises."

One of the adverts outside the premises said "We will queue for you".

Mackay said two licence department employees had also been suspended, pending investigations.

- SAPA