Six people have been arrested and appeared in court on Tuesday, as a result of the joint efforts of the department and the Directorate of Special Operations, also known as the Scorpions.
The syndicate seems to be operating in various areas around the country and makes use of fraudulently generated supply orders using the name of the Department of Agriculture.
The syndicate seemed to operate by contacting suppliers for quotations to deliver items such as toner cartridges, computers and laptops.
The suspected criminals would then issued suppliers with a fraudulent order for the delivery of the above-mentioned items.
The syndicate would in turn contact regional offices of the Department, pretending to be officials at Head Quarters in Pretoria.
The regional Water Affairs officials would be asked to accept the goods that were fraudulently ordered from suppliers, with the understanding that the goods will be distributed in the relevant province.
After this, the syndicate would normally arrange that a courier service pick up the goods whilst the supplier is under the impression that the goods have been delivered at the offices of the Department.
Another scheme, said the department, involves fraudulent cheques being paid into the accounts of suppliers.
Suppliers are then informed by means of a fraudulent letterhead of the department that the payment made into the bank account was meant for another supplier or institution. The suppliers are then requested to electronically transfer the amount back into fraudsters' bank account.
The Scorpions are continuing with their investigations and more arrests are expected.
Article published courtesy of BuaNews
