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An immigration officer stationed at Beitbridge Port of Entry in Musina, Limpopo, has been arrested along with six foreign nationals following a sting operation.
A statement from the police’s office of the Provincial Commissioner in Limpopo revealed this on Monday.
Members of Operation Vala Umgodi held the sting operation at 6.30am on Sunday morning to address corruption among officials, police said.
Operation Vala Umgodi is combatting illicit mining and other crimes.
“During surveillance, a complainant observed an individual approaching the immigration officer, leading to an exchange of money,” the statement read.
“Upon investigation, the [56-year-old] officer was found in possession of R3 100, which she could not account for, as well as six passports belonging to foreign nationals.”
The owners of the passports were traced and located on buses arriving from Malawi, awaiting processing at the port of entry.
“All individuals, aged between 27 and 43, were interviewed and failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding their passports and the cash found in the officer’s possession.”
The Limpopo Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit was alerted, and both the money and passports were seized and registered as evidence.
All accused individuals are scheduled to appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court soon.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo, Major General Samuel Manala welcomed the arrests and commended the team’s ongoing efforts to eradicate corruption within the ranks of law enforcement.
Police investigations are still underway.
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Two ago, in mid-September, police destroyed a bridge near the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe that is believed to have been used to smuggle people and goods.
The illegal bridge over the Limpopo River was less than 1km east of the Beitbridge Port of Entry.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk said the man-made bridge was found by border policing members while on patrol.
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Additional reporting by Gareth Cotterell
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