Three Arrested in Illegal Marriage Scheme Targeting South African Women
DURBAN – An intelligence-driven operation conducted by Crime Intelligence officers in collaboration with the Metro Police Tactical Support Unit, the Sydenham Trio Task Team, and Home Affairs Immigration officials has revealed the existence of an illicit Home Affairs office.
This office was reportedly utilized to facilitate illegal marriages and the issuance of spousal visas at a residential block located on Matthews Meyiwa Road in Greyville, Durban, on Monday afternoon.
The suspects have been acquiring identity documents belonging to South African women and entering into marriages with unfamiliar individuals, particularly undocumented foreign nationals, in order to facilitate the attainment of South African citizenship for these fraudulent spouses.
Preliminary investigations have thus far revealed the involvement of a Home Affairs official collaborating with the suspects. Further arrests remain a possibility as the investigation progresses. Several application forms, copies of identity documents, and electronic devices were confiscated.
Among the three suspects, two males will be charged with fraud, while the female suspect will face a charge of obstructing justice after she attempted to conceal evidence by tearing some of the documents and discarding them in a bin. The suspects are scheduled to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 30 October 2024.