A Free State man has appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on charges of corruption, fraud, and money laundering after being served with a court summons.
Mosethle Samuel Masopa, 49, an administration clerk at the Lengua Testing Centre, has been linked to a case where 14 other people are already implicated in unlawfully issuing driver’s and learner’s licenses.
The case is being investigated by members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks).
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Warrant Officer Fikiswa Matoti, said that their members received information about an entire syndicate in operation.
“Intelligence information about the traffic department and private examiners in Bloemfontein, Brandfort, Botshabelo, Ladybrand, Phalaborwa, and Nelspruit; traffic officers, driving school instructors and runners who were involved in issuing learner’s and driver’s licences without following proper procedures was received in 2022.
“Operation Catfish was subsequently set up, several transactions concluded over a period and evidence thereof presented before court,” Matoti said.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in the Free State authorised warrant of arrest for 20 individuals on January 26.
“Early in the morning of January 29, 2024, members of the Hawks, Tactical Response Team (TRT), and Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) arrested nine males and five females aged between 30 and 57 at different locations,” Matoti said.
During his first appearance, Masopa was released on a warning by the court.
The matter has been postponed until August 14, for the matter to be transferred to the regional court.
-IOL
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