The police in North West have arrested four alleged kingpins linked to a crime syndicate involved in the fraudulent sale of driver’s licences.
The suspects, who were arrested in Klerksdorp and Stillfontein on Wednesday, are in police custody at the Jouberton police station and are expected to appear at a magistrate’s court in Klerksdorp on Friday.
They include driving licence examiners and driving school operators. More arrests are expected.
According to Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), the arrests followed a two-year investigation, dubbed operation KPS, which was conducted by the RTMC’s national traffic anti-corruption unit, the police’s anti-corruption and crime intelligence units.
“The investigation revealed that the examiners were colluding with driving school operators to have learner’s and driver’s licences fraudulently issued to aspiring drivers without requiring them to undergo the required tests,” said the RTMC.
It has been further established that the syndicate has hijacked driving licence centres in Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom and Stillfontein to conduct its corrupt activities.
Driving school operators play a crucial role when booking appointments for aspirant drivers, arranging eye tests with local optometrists, and coordinating examiners to ensure that licences were issued.
Meanwhile, 10 other licensing officials from Harrismith in Free State are due at the local regional court on May 25 to answer to charges of fraud related to the issuing of driver’s licences.
Five other officials will appear at the Bethlehem regional court on similar charges. They were all arrested in 2021.
The suspects face charges of fraud, corruption, and money-laundering after it was discovered that they allegedly conspired to ensure that vehicle licence fees and arrears worth tens of millions of rands were written off.
The officials are said to have pocketed half of the fees due to the state.
The RTMC has urged members of the public to cooperate with them to root out corruption in driving licence centres around the country.
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