The officers include two police officers, Tsoloane Matthew's Tsoloane (36) and Tsediso Lawrence Matsaneng (36), and Home Affairs Immigration officer Emmanuel Sebofi (45).

The complainant's passport was illegally seized by an immigration official at the border crossing in Ficksburg on the grounds that it was invalid.

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In May 2017, former Free State immigration officer Ezekiel Mokhachane appeared in the Zastron Regional Court for withholding travelling documents of asylum seekers and demanding R3 000.

It is not a new thing for immigration officials to demand money from foreign nationals for their documents.

The immigration officer's partner in crime, a police officer, informed the complainant that, for a fee, he could help the complainant get his passport back.

He then demanded that the complainant give him R2500 to get his passport back.

In accordance with the requests of the accused, the complainant delivered and obeyed.

The Bloemfontein-based Serious Corruption Investigation Unit of the Hawks was alerted to the situation, and a preliminary inquiry was carried out.

The three suspects were detained in Ficksburg on Saturday 25 March 2023 after splitting the money among themselves. Only R600 was found in one of the three accused's possession.

Tsoloane, Matsaneng, and Sebofi were released on bail of R2000, and the case was postponed to April 26 for additional investigations.

OFM News