Fifteen people have been arrested in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in a major crackdown on corruption related to the fraudulent issuing of driving licences.
The suspects including four driver licence examiners, a clerk, a cleaner and nine learner licence applicants were nabbed in a joint police action by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC)’s National Traffic Ant-Corruption Unit, the Hawks and KwaZulu-Natal Traffic and Transport Inspectorate Unit.
RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said law enforcement officials have a warrant for immediate arrest of another official.
Zwane said the arrests followed a year-long investigation in which officials from the Howick driver learner testing centre were observed engaging in unethical and corrupt conduct at the centre.
“Corruption related to the issuing of driving licence documents is a major concern and is believed to contribute significantly to road accidents in South Africa. About 80% of fatal crashes are attributed to human error and the ability of the drivers to handle the vehicle plays an important role in this.”
The suspects are expected to appear at Durban Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday.
Investigations are continuing and more arrests are expected.
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