Windhoek
Eleven people were arrested over the weekend at Okakarara after they were found operating vehicles with fake driving licences and fake vehicle licence discs.
The accused appeared in the Okakarara Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning on charges of fraud, forgery and altering authentic documents.
They were all remanded in police custody pending further police investigations.
Detective Chief Inspector Naukalemo Andreas, the regional crime investigating coordinator for the Otjozondjupa Region, said the police had set up mobile roadblocks in and around Okakarara on Saturday and Sunday, and that is how the accused were arrested.
Andreas added that the accused were arrested after police officers at the roadblocks found that provisional driving licences carried by different drivers had the same serial number on them.
A businessman who allegedly owns a printing and copy shop in Okakarara was also arrested.
This business owner is accused of having manipulated authentic driving documents with a computer to produce the fake vehicle licences.
He allegedly sold the fake documents to many vehicle operators.
Andreas said the scam has been going on for the past two years in Okakarara.
The detective urged Namibians who might have acquired such documents to surrender them to the nearest police station.
She further urged community members to report any person to the police who is suspected of operating a vehicle with a bogus driving licence or fake vehicle licence disc.