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Police crime intelligence operation support boss Maj-Gen Feroz Khan allegedly interfered in a 715kg cocaine bust, causing investigations to fail, the Madlanga commission heard on Monday. Hawks Lt-Col Joseph Sebola told the commission that when Khan took over the scene where police uncovered the cocaine in a container that had been driven by truck from Durban to Aeroton, south of Johannesburg, in 2021, the top cop did not handle the scene correctly. “You can be aware I was confronted with the statement of General Khan, of which, when I was on my own, I asked myself, does this man know how a scene can be handled? Because had he approached the scene the way it was supposed to be, we were not going to be confronted with this level of questioning,” he said. Khan had taken over the scene and instructed that three officers — Steve Phakula, a warrant officer with the South African Police Service’s National Intervention Unit; crime information management and analysis centre commander Marumo Magane; and Gauteng traffic police chief Samuel Mashaba — be arrested. Sebola alleged that Khan’s “interference” and that of other senior police officers in the investigation stifled the probe. He said the interference led to what was supposed to be a good case, “has been lost”. In unsubstantiated allegations before the commission a previous witness said that the seized drugs “belonged” to Khan. Part of the commission’s terms of reference is investigating allegations that drug cartels have links to police officers. Khan is set to appear before the commission on July 1 to answer to damning allegations against him. Sebola, who investigated the drug bust, managed to extract information from the phone of alleged police informer Tumelo Nku. Nku informed Mashaba about the drugs. The phone shows a trail of messages between Nku and a person named “Alpha” having a conversation before the drug bust. “If those containers are gone, me and you are in big sh**. Send the pics with the seal, so I can show the people. I am getting heavy threats,” a message from Alpha to Nku reads. Sebola said he believed the container that was a focal point in the conversation was the container with the cocaine, which the police confiscated. Nku and Alpha spoke regularly about arrangements with Mashaba. Sebola said the one person in Nku’s contacts was Gauteng traffic chief Mashaba. He said his investigation showed Nku had connections with customs officials, Transnet and the tracking of containers from as early as 2019. Nku was implicated in the cocaine seizure and was initially arrested and charged with attempting to steal drugs during the operation. Sebola said police officers involved in the operation should be probed. “It is also noteworthy that certain senior officers sought to involve themselves in the operational matters relating to the investigation. In my experience, the extent of their involvement in these operational activities was unusual and raised concerns in my mind. “As a result, their level of involvement created doubts and prompted questions as to whether their actions were entirely consistent with their expected role and responsibilities. I believe that these circumstances warrant careful consideration when assessing the overall facts of the matter,” he said. He named Khan and Hawks Gauteng head Maj-Gen Ebrahim Kadwa as having been involved in the matter. Meanwhile, the commission’s spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said the commission has learnt Khan has “secretly” approached the high court in Johannesburg in an attempt to hold his urgent application seeking the return of his devices in camera and to deny the public access to any commission affidavits. “This morning [Monday], General Khan abandoned that urgent application to have the initial application heard in camera. He also abandoned his initial urgent application against the commission,” Michaels said. “Following a case management meeting before the acting deputy judge president, justice Lebogang Modiba, the withdrawal of both General Khan’s applications will be embodied in a court order. As soon as that order has been issued the commission will make its affidavits available to the media and the public.” Khan is set to appear before the commission on July 1.
