Durban - Two men have been arrested after police seized 495 Sassa payment cards in the Pietermaritzburg on Saturday.
Sassa KZN Regional Executive, Themba Matlou, said the arrests emanate from a tip off from the public.
He said a vehicle was intercepted while travelling on the N3 from Alex Extension.
"The vehicle was stopped near Ashburton and the suspects were arrested. The modus operandi used by the syndicate is commonly known as e-wallet where the suspects would transfer money out of the cards into the cell phone numbers linked to the sim cards," he said.
Matlou said the accused will appear in court on Monday.
He noted that just last week, Sergeant Hloniphile Blose was arrested after she was found with Sassa cards and money in her possession.
"This clearly proves that we remain relentless in our pursuit of a corruption free social grant system. There will be no leniency shown to anyone who preys on social grants beneficiaries. We are pleased that members of the public are now taking a stand and will not tolerate fraud and corruption," he said.
Matlou said Sassa will work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that justice is served.
"We encourage members of the public to report similar cases they may be aware of to the nearest police station. They can also report fraud matters on our Fraud Line at 0800 701 701," he said.
He encouraged all new social grants beneficiaries to come with a valid and active bank account for a social grant.
Sassa cards will not be an option for new applicants.
Should any applicants wish to change their current form of payment, they will have to bring the following documents when changing their payment method: correctly completed, signed and stamped Annexure C from obtainable from Sassa, a recently certified copy of ID and copy of recent bank statement to confirm bank details
IOL