By Barry Bateman
It has been claimed that some customs officials working for the SA Revenue Service (Sars) at OR Tambo International Airport are working with syndicates that target people arriving in the country.
These allegations come after the murder of Eric Lerata ,43,, a nuclear services general manager at the Nuclear Energy Authority of South Africa.
Lerata was gunned down outside his home in Ibis Street as he arrived back from a two-week trip to France.
Lerata's driver, who had picked him up at the airport, escaped unharmed, but was treated for shock.
Police suspect the pair may have been followed from the airport.
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A man who lives about 100m from Lerata's home said he found airline baggage stickers outside his house.
It was unclear whether they were connected to the murder, but he handed them to officers on the scene.
Tosin Oyekanmi, who worked with Lerata when he was employed at Columbus Stainless in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, said he enjoyed working with him.
"Eric was a hard and dedicated worker who was always full of smiles.
"I also knew Eric as a dedicated father. My deepest condolences to the family and children he has left behind," he said.
Oyekanmi said the incident was similar to an attack that happened to another friend of his about a month ago.
"People are robbed of all their belongings at gunpoint when they are about to drive into their driveways.
"They are being tailed from the airport.
"The syndicate operates from the airport and some airport officials are involved because in some cases, the robbers have confronted their victims with some specific details (about what they're looking for)," he claimed.
Oyekanmi speculated that the Sars declaration form, which passengers have to fill in upon arriving in South Africa, was used to identify targets.
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