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A Joburg imam - a Muslim priest - allegedly ran a lucrative illegal marriage scam for months from an office at his mosque in Joburg.
Together with two "runners", Imam Mohammed Rashaad Ramdin reportedly would lure unemployed single young women to the Mayfair mosque where he would "interview" them for a range of jobs.
But, say police, Ramdin's interviews were different to those of other employers.
In addition to taking down the usual details such as names, ID numbers and residential addresses, he also allegedly fingerprinted them and took an ID-size photo of them.
And to show he was genuine about the job offer, he would give the women R200 for "transport costs" and a cellphone on which he could contact them when the job became available.
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The women, however, would never receive that call about a job.
But - after getting a job elsewhere or after using their IDs - they would discover they were married to someone they had never met.
These are the state's allegations against Ramdin and his alleged runners, Mpho Moloi and Pulene Moame.
On Wednesday, a bearded Ramdin - wearing a kurta and kuffiya (traditional clothing) - appeared in the Johannesburg magistrate's court for the first time.
With him in the dock were Moloi and Moame.
The trio stand accused of contravening sections of the Home Affairs Act by running an illegal marriage scam in which they "married" an unknown number of South African women to illegal immigrants - mostly from Pakistan.
Ramdin, described by his lawyer, Emmanuel Giddion, as "a good Muslim", was arrested by members of the Organised Crime Unit on Tuesday.
Moloi and Moame were arrested in November but have been in police custody because they were denied bail at previous hearings.
Police are looking for a Nigerian believed to have been involved.
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