11 Indians arrested in S Africa for possessing false documents

Fakir Hassen
Johannesburg, Jan 1 (PTI) Eleven Indian nationals have
been arrested for allegedly possessing illegal asylum
documents after a raid on a house in the mainly Indian suburb
of Fordsburg here.
The raid was conducted by officials of the Home Affairs
Ministry together with the South African police on Thursday as
part of efforts to check false documents.
Officials said the arrested persons will be produced
before court "soon".
Home Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said the documents
found in their possession originated from the Ministry, but it
was not clear how they had obtained them.
It is believed that the house that was raided served as a
safe haven for illegal migrants until they received their
South African identity documents and passports at huge 'fees'
charged by agents working in collaboration with Home Affairs
officials.
The raids followed the arrest of three officials of the
Home Affairs Ministry last week for their role in a
Pakistani-led syndicate which specialised in getting false
South Africa identity documents and passports for illegal
migrants.
The son of one of the officials was also arrested
after he was caught trying to burn documents found in his
mother's house.
Two of the officials, Maria Moyo and Samson Mogashoa,
are out on R2,000 bail each, while Calvin Moyo, 24, and the
alleged Pakistan-born syndicate kingpin Faizel Shazaad, are
still in custody as investigations progress.
Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Somali illegal
migrants are among the main ones frequently involved in
illegal South Africa documentation deals.
Last year, British authorities were prompted to introduce
visas for South African visitors for the first time amid
concerns over false passports being used, especially by Indian
and Pakistani nationals to get into Britain. PTI