ID thief arrested after being confronted by ID owner
NORWOOD - AN ILLEGAL Zimbabwean national was arrested for allegedly buying an identity document and using it to get a job.
Norwood police arrested the 33-year-old suspect at her workplace in Athol-Oaklands, Melrose Arch.
According to police the problem started when the rightful owner of the identity document went to the Department of Labour to apply for her unemployment insurance. Norwood police spokesperson Constable Nonzwakazi Tsoanyane said the woman was told to check her results after three days.
Tsoanyane said, “When she went back to check her results after three days, to her surprise she was told by the department’s consultant that she did not qualify for the fund because she was employed.”
The complainant was stunned as she was, and still is, unemployed. The complainant requested the full details of the registered workplace, and the consultant provided her with all the details. She went to the company in Melrose Arch.
She met with the woman who had been using her identity document and questioned her.
Tsoanyane said, “The suspect informed [the complainant] that she bought the identity document in Berea near Hillbrow for employment purposes because she was from Zimbabwe and was living in South Africa as an illegal immigrant.
“The complainant alerted the police about the incident and the suspect was later arrested at her workplace.”
Tsoanyane added that further investigations were still underway and the suspect was due to appear in Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court soon.
