Hawks arrest brothers for bribery‚ R6m of ivory‚ diamonds and abalone

28 October 2016 - 17:08 By TMG Digital

A Home Affairs official's honesty came as a nasty shock to two Chinese brothers - when an attempt at bribing the officer ended in their arrest. When the Hawks searched the men's luggage they found an estimated R6 million worth of illicit loot. One of the men apparently offered the official R3,000 to provide official checks and authorise his brother’s passport.Instead the officer alerted the Pretoria Serious Corruption Unit of the Hawks and an operation was mounted.The flight from OR Tambo was slightly delayed‚ so the Hawks were just in time to pounce. A 36-old-man was found in possession of a fraudulent passport.A search of his luggage revealed ivory‚ polished diamonds‚ 10kg of wet abalone‚ a bag of dry abalone and a bag of Lenovate ointment which is used for serious skin conditions‚ Lupus‚ Psoriasis and other disorders and requires a doctor’s prescription.The value of his loot is estimated at R6-million...

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