The matter was on the roll on Tuesday‚ but Judge Elizabeth Kabushi postponed the matter for the preparations of heads of argument by the state and the applicants.
Last week Thursday‚ Judge Kabushi granted an interim order stopping the extradition of the eight. The judge also ordered “the state to immediately take necessary steps to have” Seson Olimede Farin and Femi Alexandra Mewase – who had already been extradited – returned to SA pending the finalisation of the matter.
The Nigerians‚ along with a South African woman‚ were nabbed by the Hawks in April last year in raids conducted in Sunnyside‚ Pretoria. Several other alleged syndicate members were also arrested in the same operation in Canada and the US.
The two-year investigation began after agents from US Homeland Security Investigations were tipped off by a Mississippi woman about a suspicious parcel she had received from Pretoria.
The Mississippi woman had nearly fallen victim to the “sweetheart” scam.
The woman approached the US authorities after she had been told to ship the contents of the parcel back to the address in Pretoria. The investigation revealed that the merchandise was packaged using stolen personal identity information and fraudulent credit card information from a US citizen.
Hundreds of US citizens are believed to have fallen victim to the scam.
According to the Hawks‚ the syndicate has operated for years‚ purchasing shipping labels from the US Postal Service and courier companies using fraudulent credit card information and stolen identities. Once the stolen merchandise reached South Africa‚ the suspects advertised it for sale on the internet.
The accused’s lawyer‚ Thesigan Pillay‚ argued in court papers that the magistrate who granted the extradition acted unconstitutionally and unlawfully.
He also contended that there has been a diplomatic failure in terms of co-operation between SA and Nigeria and that the South African suspect was given preferential treatment.
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