KZN transport officials bust for R7m taxi permits scheme

Five officials from the KwaZulu-Natal department of transport will on Wednesday appear in the Durban specialised commercial crime court on charges of fraud and corruption amounting to R7m.

The officials, aged between 33 and 61, were caught by the Hawks' Durban serious commercial crime unit after they allegedly issued taxi operating permits to taxi operators without proper documents. Provincial Hawks spokesperson Capt Simphiwe Mhlongo said the officials allegedly charged R25,000 per permit and the total value involved is about R7m.

“A case of fraud and corruption was reported at Pietermaritzburg police station and the case docket was allocated to Durban's serious commercial crime unit for further investigation. After an intensive investigation the five were arrested and charged,” said Mhlongo.

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