- The ringleader behind the syndicate producing fraudulent SA passports will remain in jail.
- Afran Ahmed made fake passports for foreigners.
- His 26 co-accused were granted R2 000 bail each.
The mastermind behind the syndicate producing fraudulent South African passports to foreigners has been denied bail.
On Thursday, Pakistani national Afran Ahmed, 39, was denied bail by the Krugersdorp Magistrate's Court.
His 26 accomplices, including locals and 12 Somalian nationals, were each granted R2 000 bail.
Ahmed and 26 others were caught red-handed on 24 March inside a Home Affairs branch in Krugersdorp, allegedly producing passports meant for 12 Somalians.
He was arrested after being on the radar of law enforcement agencies and Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
Ahmed had allegedly processed 400 fraudulent passports before his arrest.
The court heard damning allegations from Warrant Officer Veerasamy Ponnen, who had been investigating Ahmed for three to four years.
Ponnen added that Ahmed was in possession of a fraudulent visiting visa and student visa.
Ahmed allegedly had free access to Home Affairs branches in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
Ponnen claimed Ahmed knew how to operate Home Affairs systems, including producing passports.
He allegedly accessed branches at around 22:00, accompanied by foreign nationals and South Africans, who had sold their identity numbers to him.
Ahmed would later make new passports for illegal immigrants, using the South African identity numbers he had bought for R500.
He targeted unemployed South Africans, who didn't have passports.
He allegedly charged foreigners R4 500 as a deposit for a South African passport and a balance of R1 500 once the passport had been issued.
He collected the passports from various Home Affairs branches.
Foreigners with such fraudulently issued passports later fled the country.
The case was postponed to 5 July.