On Monday, two suspects are expected to come before the court after they were discovered to have 495 Sassa payment cards in their possession in Pietermaritzburg.
The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) in KwaZulu-Natal mentioned in a statement that on Saturday night, the two culprits were apprehended around the axis in the central business district, after they were unable to defend themselves on why they had the cards in their possession.
Sassa further mentioned that it was after an intel came through to the police, that they were able to make the arrests.
The statement reads thus:
“A vehicle was intercepted travelling from Alex extension towards N3 and stopped on the N3 near Ashburton where the arrested suspects were nabbed in possession of the 495 Sassa payment cards which were activated.”
“The modus operandi used by the syndicate is commonly known as e-wallet, where the suspects would transfer money out of the cards into the cellphone numbers linked to the sim cards.”
Sassa’s regional executive manager – Themba Matlou said as at last week, a 38-year old police officer was arrested for a similar case in Phoenix, related to the arrest of the duo.
Themba Matlou said:
“This clearly proves that we remain relentless in our pursuit of a corruption-free social grant system.”
“There will be no leniency shown to anyone who preys on social grants beneficiaries. We are pleased that members of the public are now taking a stand and will not tolerate fraud and corruption.”
