TWO men accused of illegally marrying South African women to foreigners and foreign nationals seeking citizenship have been granted bail in the Durban Magistrate’s Court.

Pakistani national Khalid Haroon (58) and Sirajbhali Isiyalibhai Patel (56) from India appeared before Magistrate Mathibane on Monday and were granted bail of Rs 20,000 each. The two accused were arrested during a joint operation between Crime Intelligence, the Metro Police Tactical Support Unit, the Sydenham Trio Task Force and Home Affairs Immigration Officers, which uncovered the clandestine Home Affairs office used to facilitate illegal marriages and spouse visas to a block. on Matthews Meyiwa Road in Greyville on Oct. 28.

Read also: Illegal SA citizenship ring busted in Greyville

Initially, the state opposed bail while they verified the defendant’s immigration status. KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Haroon and Patel were facing charges of breaching various sections of the Immigration Act 2002 (Act No 13 of 2002).

“The charges relate to the two men allegedly unlawfully presenting documents purporting to be documents issued by the National Department of Home Affairs and operating an office providing the services of an immigration practitioner when they were not authorized to do so,” he said. Ramkisson-Kara said.

She said their bail conditions also included reporting to the Durban Central Police Station once a week and surrendering their passports to the investigating officer. “The case has been adjourned to February 15, 2025, for further investigations,” Ramkisson-Kara added.

KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said more arrests could be made in the case. He said: “The suspects would seize the identity documents of SA women and marry them to foreigners, especially undocumented foreign nationals, so that the fake husbands could obtain SA citizenship. Preliminary investigations have so far identified an Internal Affairs official who worked in concert with the suspects. More arrests cannot be ruled out as investigations continue. Several application forms, copies of identity documents and electronic devices were seized.”

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