Three suspects between the ages of 38 and 49 were arrested on Friday, 7 October 2022 and Saturday, 8 October 2022 respectively in Welkom by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Welkom and Provincial Anti-Corruption team.
Their arrests originate from an incident which took place in 2019, where provincial traffic officials discovered that some of the taxi permits were fraudulent while they were conducting a stop and search in Welkom.
They then conducted their preliminary investigation were they discovered that the fraudulent taxi permits were bought from the suspects by the victims with an estimated amount of R156 000.
It was also discovered that the face value documents were stolen from the Traffic Department in Welkom.
The matter was reported to the Hawks for further investigation which culminated to the arrest of the trio.
The suspects are expected to appear before the Welkom Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 10 October 2022 where they will be facing charges of fraud, theft, uttering and forgery.
