A 43 year old man of Kolo’fo’ou has been arrested in connection with a passport scam in Tonga.
Members of the Tonga Police Passport Taskforce and Tonga CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) executed three search warrants and arrested the suspect who allegedly obtained two passports using forged documents.
The accused has been charged with 2 counts of knowingly dealing with forged documents.
He has been released on bail and he will reappear in court on 16 October 2017.
This is the second case where the Ministry of Justice system was misused to create false birth certificates.
The five accused persons in the first case have all been sentenced to imprisonment.
The head of the Passport Taskforce, Acting Police Commissioner „Unga Fa‟aoa said, “This is an important investigation to stamp out all fraudulent passport activities intended for locals and foreigners.”
Investigations continue into others who facilitated and are involved in this case.
The Passport Taskforce is working closely with Ministry of Justice, Tonga Immigration and National Identity Cards Office in combating crimes of identity fraud.