News / National
Man runs bogus immigration office at the border
19 Mar 2021 at 16:05hrs | Views
A 44-year-old man believed to be part of a syndicate running a bogus immigration office in Beitbridge was early this morning arrested by border officials during a sting operation.
Thomas Chidza was nabbed at around 2am after having allegedly assisted a South African bus crew member to enter the country by endorsing his passport with a fake immigration stamp.
He was found with three immigration stamps, three rubber stencils, and several ink pads among other tools of the trade.
The Assistant Regional Immigration Officer (ARIO) in charge of Beitbridge Mr Nqobile Ncube said Chidza was now in police custody pending a court appearance.
"Let this be a strong warning to other members of the syndicate that we will account for all of them.
"At the same time, we discourage travellers from making use of the services of such criminals as their risk losing their money and prosecution," he said.
Mr Ncube said they arrested Chidza after he was implicated by one of his agents, they found with the South African late on Thursday evening.
"We picked him in the morning during a sting operation," he said.
Thomas Chidza was nabbed at around 2am after having allegedly assisted a South African bus crew member to enter the country by endorsing his passport with a fake immigration stamp.
He was found with three immigration stamps, three rubber stencils, and several ink pads among other tools of the trade.
The Assistant Regional Immigration Officer (ARIO) in charge of Beitbridge Mr Nqobile Ncube said Chidza was now in police custody pending a court appearance.
"At the same time, we discourage travellers from making use of the services of such criminals as their risk losing their money and prosecution," he said.
Mr Ncube said they arrested Chidza after he was implicated by one of his agents, they found with the South African late on Thursday evening.
"We picked him in the morning during a sting operation," he said.
Source - the herald
