A man is in police custody in connection with the alleged sale of the 2024 matric results online. The 21-year-old was arrested in Hillcrest, north of Johannesburg, following a search-and-seizure operation at his home on Thursday.
The suspect was detained on firearm-related charges after an unlicensed shotgun was found at his home. Meanwhile, the Hawks say they are continuing the investigation into the leak of the results. Spokesperson, Colonel Katlego Mogale, says various electronic devices and live ammunition were also seized during the operation.
His arrest follows reports of a website selling matric results for R100, ahead of their official release earlier this week.
READ MORE: The Citizen/Matric results for just R100? Outcry over ‘leak’ of marks
The breach was first reported by the Department of Basic Education on 12 January, with the Hawks’ Serious Economic Offences Unit and Cybercrime Investigation Unit taking over the case.
On Monday, Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube shared the department’s concern on the incident, emphasising the importance of identifying the breach’s source: whether it was an internal breach or the work of a hacker.
“If the breach has come from the DBE side we will be investigating and consequence management will follow.”
At the time, Gwarube noted that the integrity of the results had not been compromised, likely because the breach happened after results had been verified and finalised.
“The breach seems to have happened only at the tail end that pertains to the verified results that have already been finalised. The reason why I make that distinction clear is so that it can be clear to everybody that we are talking about the results themselves that very well may have been leaked.”
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