Cape Town - Investigations by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Unit and the police’s South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau, assisted by Crime Intelligence, have resulted in the arrests of 12 people for fraud involving disability grants.
The investigations began in April last year.
Police spokesperson Bonnie Nxumalo said: “The team arrested 10 suspects aged between 27 and 58 for allegations of fraud and corruption. They were arrested on February 13 and 14.
“It is alleged that individuals from the Eastern Cape and Western Cape submitted fraudulent medical documents to apply for disability grants at Sassa offices in Malmesbury.
“They were assisted by one of the suspects who is neither a Sassa nor a health employee who ‘recruited’ these individuals at a fee. The fraudulent activities were conducted with the assistance of a Sassa employee,” she said.
Sassa is said to have suffered a loss of more than R1.8 million.
The investigation is continuing and more arrests are to be made.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, two suspects aged 45 and 43 were arrested on February 13 for possession of illegal drugs.
Nxumalo said the Hawks obtained a warrant of arrest for two wanted individuals after an ongoing investigation into the confiscation of R400m worth of cocaine in August last year, when three men were arrested.
“On August 4, 2022, an operation was conducted by the Hawks, assisted by Crime Intelligence Gathering and Western Cape Traffic officials, on the N1 highway near a service station where a truck was intercepted. Cocaine worth more than R400m concealed in false wooden boards in the truck was recovered.
“Meshack Mzungezi Ngobese, 47, Elias Radebe, 42, and Ebrahim Kara, 39, were arrested. They were charged with dealing in drugs and they have been in custody since their arrest. They will appear in the Khayelitsha Regional Court on February 17,” he said.
siviwe.melapi@inl.co.za