Maj-Gen Feroz Khan, the head of counter and security intelligence for the crime intelligence division of the police; Gauteng head of Hawks Maj-Gen Ebrahim Kadwa; and Durban-based businessman Tariq Downes appeared in the Kempton Park magistrate’s court on Monday and were released on R20,000 bail each.
The trio were arrested over the weekend and charged with illegal dealing and possession of precious metals and obstructing the ends of justice.
Here are five things you need to know about the case:
- It emanates from May 2021, when Downes was arrested for being in possession of illicit precious metal. On his arrest, he allegedly told police that he was an undercover agent, which he was not. It is alleged that at the time Khan and Kadwa ordered police to release him.
- The trio were arrested by the Gauteng crime counterintelligence team and allegedly refused to open their electronic gadgets so that further investigations could be conducted.
- National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the accused’s refusal to grant police officers access to their devices is affecting the pace of the investigations.
- He said the police will have to apply to a court to force the accused to open their devices.
- National police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said the gold that was found in Downes’s possession was still in a police laboratory.
Sowetan
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