THE long arm of the law finally caught up with a syndicate of fraudsters who had successfully defrauded the Limpopo and Mpumalanga governments of R174,000 in total.
The police's crime intelligence unit made a breakthrough and arrested seven suspects.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa's spokesperson, Zweli Mnisi, said more than 1000 people who have falsely benefited through the scam were expected to be arrested since as investigations were continuing.
Among them, he said, were doctors, nurses and Sassa officials who allegedly worked in cahoots with the syndicate.
The suspects had allegedly masterminded fraudulent activities on the social security grants in the two provinces.
After intensive investigations the police traced a social grants syndicate operating around the Bushbuckridge area and arrested seven people on Friday.
Mnisi said the syndicate included two kingpins - Khutso Mabuye, 41, and Patrick Mdluli, 46.
They were accused of defrauding the provinces' South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) through illegal possession and trading-in of child birth charts.
The charts are meant to enable children to access government's social grants.
Mnisi said the seven appeared in the Calcutta magistrate's court in Bushbuckridge yesterday, where they were refused bail. Their case was postponed to September 27.
"We applaud the good work of the police in tracing and arresting these scoundrels and we hope severe punishment will be meted out to them," Mnisi said.
"This will send a message that, no matter where they hide, we will find them.
"We are particularly incensed that such criminal acts are compromising the integrity of a legitimate government programme aimed at poverty alleviation and we will not allow that."
Mnisi said on being questioned Mabuye had confessed to having sold 130 child birth charts.
Mdluli, who works in the Bushbuckridge Hospital's pharmacy section, allegedly confessed to acquiring the charts for R10 each and selling them for R120 each.
Mnisi said at Mdluli's arrest the police confiscated 15 blank child birth charts dated with the Bushbuckridge Hospital's official stamp.
Mnisi said preliminary police calculations estimated that these fraudulent practices had cost the provincial departments approximately R174,000.
Grants graft exposed
THE long arm of the law finally caught up with a syndicate of fraudsters who had successfully defrauded the Limpopo and Mpumalanga governments of R174,000 in total.
The police's crime intelligence unit made a breakthrough and arrested seven suspects.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa's spokesperson, Zweli Mnisi, said more than 1000 people who have falsely benefited through the scam were expected to be arrested since as investigations were continuing.
Among them, he said, were doctors, nurses and Sassa officials who allegedly worked in cahoots with the syndicate.
The suspects had allegedly masterminded fraudulent activities on the social security grants in the two provinces.
After intensive investigations the police traced a social grants syndicate operating around the Bushbuckridge area and arrested seven people on Friday.
Mnisi said the syndicate included two kingpins - Khutso Mabuye, 41, and Patrick Mdluli, 46.
They were accused of defrauding the provinces' South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) through illegal possession and trading-in of child birth charts.
The charts are meant to enable children to access government's social grants.
Mnisi said the seven appeared in the Calcutta magistrate's court in Bushbuckridge yesterday, where they were refused bail. Their case was postponed to September 27.
"We applaud the good work of the police in tracing and arresting these scoundrels and we hope severe punishment will be meted out to them," Mnisi said.
"This will send a message that, no matter where they hide, we will find them.
"We are particularly incensed that such criminal acts are compromising the integrity of a legitimate government programme aimed at poverty alleviation and we will not allow that."
Mnisi said on being questioned Mabuye had confessed to having sold 130 child birth charts.
Mdluli, who works in the Bushbuckridge Hospital's pharmacy section, allegedly confessed to acquiring the charts for R10 each and selling them for R120 each.
Mnisi said at Mdluli's arrest the police confiscated 15 blank child birth charts dated with the Bushbuckridge Hospital's official stamp.
Mnisi said preliminary police calculations estimated that these fraudulent practices had cost the provincial departments approximately R174,000.
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