A former Sars customs official who was bust for fraudulently issuing Sadc certificates has been sentenced to an effective six years in jail.

The Musina magistrate's court this week sentenced Isaiah Makamola to the jail term after convicting him of two counts of corruption.

Sars said in a statement that Makamola was arrested by the Hawks on May 26, 2016, at Beitbridge border post for “illegally selling Sadc certificates on two separate occasions”.

“He was part of a sting operation by the Hawks at the time, which also saw the arrests of officials from the department of home affairs, a former Musina councillor and a local prosecutor, who were all allegedly assisting criminal gangs and taking bribes.

“Makamola was dismissed from Sars after undergoing a disciplinary hearing shortly after his arrest,” Sars said.

The tax authority said that there have been “close to 300 sanctions brought against Sars employees since April 2017".

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