EASTERN CAPE – A Hawks sting operation has landed a Road Accident Fund (RAF) syndicate behind bars.
Since February 2016 at least 32 suspects were pounced on by members of the Hawks’ commercial crime unit in the Eastern Cape, after they allegedly submitted a combined value of fraudulent claims worth more than R7 million.
Last week Thursday, four members of the same syndicate were arrested in Flagstaff after they tried to luck to swindle the RAF about R2 million for a false accident which allegedly happened in June 2007. The RAF was about to pay out the claims when investigations revealed that the four were not even involved in the accident. Three other suspects who were supposed to be arrested with these four are now deceased.
The four whose ages ranges between 35 and 60 years old respectively, were arrested and released on warning the same day. They will appear again before the Flagstaff Magistrate court on 4 July 2016. The other 28 suspects, their cases are currently on trial before the Mthatha, Port St Johns and Bizana Magistrate courts. Possibilities of further arrests cannot be ruled out.
Hawks National Head Lieutenant General Mthandazo Ntlemeza has hailed the operation and warned that Hawks are on the prowl of similar syndicates nationwide.
“We are continuing to make a huge difference in this country and our efforts are paying dividends. We have broken the back of a major syndicate and we are have our sights on other similar syndicates countrywide. Fraudsters and corruption remain our main targets, and it’s only a matter of time before we come knocking on others,” said Lieutenant General Ntlemeza.
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