Mpumalanga police have cracked an enterprise producing fake university, matric, driving academy and artisan qualifications, Captain Leonard Hlathi said on Wednesday.

They also found that 13 reserve police constables had commissioned fake matric certificates from the 25-year-old who was arrested after a tip-off on Tuesday.

The man had tried to lock himself in his house in Emthonjeni township near Machadodorp as police closed in, but he relented and opened the door.

Police found an array of computer hard drives, printers, pirated DVDs and CDs, computer programmes and a device to print ATM bank cards.

His product range included boilermaker certificates, civil engineering degrees, and diplomas.

He charged R50 for a fake certified copy and R350 for an original but, said Hlathi, most people opted for the copy.

"All the reserve constables who have tried to be enlisted as police officials with the fraudulent certificates, their future in the police is bleak, because we have no room for such people in the police service," said Hlathi.

Their copied certificates allegedly all contained the same serial number, raising questions about the way the documents were verified when the reservists were signed on.

The man arrested will appear in the Machadodorp Magistrate's Court on Thursday to be charged with forgery, fraud and uttering. Piracy will later be added to the charges.

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