Staff Reporter And Sapa-Afp
17 June 2004
Hundreds of young South Africans who thought they were in Britain legally could be forced to go home after the arrest of 20 people in London over a student visa scam.
The fraudulently obtained visas brought more than 1 000 people, mainly South Africans, to Britain.
It later emerged in Pretoria that several Home Affairs officials are suspected to be behind the scam.
Detective Chief Inspector Steven Kupis, who led yesterday's arrests in London, said those who had come to the UK with the illicit visas were mainly South African, black and white.
"They stand to be returned to their country of origin if they are here illegally," he said. "It is a matter for the Immigration Service and we are progressing with that.
"These people are victims. They have given up money, sometimes unknowingly, to these people purporting to be agents.
"They are losing not only their money, but their right to be in this country."
But by last night the SA High Commission in London was still in the dark about the early-morning arrests.
High Commission spokesman Malusi Mahlulo said none of the arresting officers nor those held had contacted the mission.
"The possibility is that all those arrested have not asked the people who have arrested them to inform their diplomatic office in London."
The UK operation was co-ordinated with raids in Durban yesterday linked to the South African end of the scam.
More than 120 officers of the London Metropolitan Police specialist crime directorate swooped on 12 addresses across London and in adjoining Essex, including two suspected bogus colleges.
At the same time, detectives of the SAPS crime intelligence division raided houses in Durban.
The scam perpetrators are thought to have pocketed at least £1 million (R11.6m).
The arrested UK suspects - eight of them women - were detained on suspicion of offences relating to helping people illegally enter and remain in the UK, as well as money-laundering, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.
National police spokeswoman Director Sally de Beer confirmed yesterday that the crime intelligence division had raided homes linked to the UK syndicate's suspected South African assets.
The assets identified are believed to include several luxury homes and cars, valued at more than R2m.
De Beer said the SAPS had been working with UK police for five months.
Home Affairs spokesman Leslie Mashokwe said it was suspected that several Home Affairs officials were the brains behind the fake visa racket.
"Last week the Minister of Home Affairs, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, vowed to deal with corrupt officials in the Department of Home Affairs," Mashokwe said. He promised more details on the clampdown today.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2004 Cape Argus. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
