Fake ID syndicate busted

2003-04-12 21:31

Johannesburg - Three people were arrested in Johannesburg on Saturday after undercover police bust a forged ID document syndicate in the city centre.

Inspector Dennis Adriao said those arrested were a Nigerian, 27, and two South Africans, one aged 28 and the other a 64-year-old man who returned from England last year where he had served a jail sentence for drug dealing.

The syndicate operated from the ninth floor of an office block at the corner of Smal and Pritchard streets.

Adriao said: "A number of forged identity documents were found and they were good enough to pass any inspection because they used the genuine laminated page from the identity book, simply replacing the photograph and leaving the other details intact."

This meant that the documents could be used to open credit accounts at stores and apply for passports and driving licences.

"Obviously the syndicate had an accomplice inside the Home Affairs Department who gave them access to certain genuine documents and our undercover investigations will include Home Affairs and Immigration." It was believed that the syndicate had been operating for some time and an unknown number of identity documents had been circulated, many of them sent to Nigeria or other countries.

The three men were being held at Johannesburg Central police station over the weekend and would appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Monday.

- SAPA