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- Two women have been arrested for allegedly withdrawing funds that were meant for social grant beneficiaries.
- One of the women is a post office employee.
- More arrests are expected to be made.
A post office employee and her alleged accomplice have been arrested for fraud after it emerged that they allegedly withdrew funds meant for South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) grant beneficiaries.
The Hawks arrested the employee, 43-year-old Thandeka Dibakwane, and Lizzy Precious Smangele Nyathi, 42, on Tuesday.
READ | Hawks arrest more than 80 people countrywide in probe into R21m Sassa fraud
They face charges of fraud, theft and conspiracy to commit fraud, according to Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi.
They appeared in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate's Court on Wednesday and were each released on R20 000 bail.
According to Sekgotodi, the women reissued "social grant cards by circumventing the system", with the help of two other women, who were also employed at the Shatale Post Office in Mpumalanga.
Sekgotodi said:
By the time the women were caught, they had withdrawn R17 500, according to the Hawks. An internal investigation first detected the alleged fraud and it was reported to the Hawks.
The arrest of the other suspects is imminent, Sekgotodi added.
The case was postponed to 21 July.
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