Johnathan Paoli
Businessman Tariq Downes and two senior police officers were each granted bail of R20,000 after appearing in the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on Monday on charges related to the alleged unlawful possession of unwrought gold and the obstruction of justice.
Downes, accused one, appeared alongside Major-General Feroz Khan (accused two) and Major-General Ebrahim Ahmed Kadwa (accused three).
Khan is the head of counter-intelligence in the South African Police Service’s Crime Intelligence division. Kadwa is the Gauteng provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).
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The three face charges of contravening the Precious Metals Act and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
According to the charge sheet, Downes was allegedly found in possession of unwrought gold on 5 May, 2021, at OR Tambo International Airport and taken for questioning by police. The metal had a mass of 75,9g with a street value of R62 836, according to the charge sheet.
The state alleges Downes told police the metal was not gold and claimed he was working with senior police officials.
“Among the explanations he gave to the police was that the metal was just a brass bar and that he was an undercover agent working with [Khan] and one Warrant Officer Le Grange,” the charge sheet states.
The charge sheet says Warrant Officer Le Grange later arrived and denied any link to Downes.
“When Warrant Officer Le Grange arrived, he indicated that he did not know [Downes] and he was never his handler. He stressed that at the moment there was no operation involving precious metals taking place.”
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The state alleged Khan was contacted by telephone and told officer Downes was an undercover agent under the Criminal Procedure Act.
“When [Khan] was telephonically contacted, he gave instructions that he had knowledge of [Downes] and that he was indeed an undercover agent in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 (CPA).”
The charge sheet further alleges Khan “instructed the officers who were conducting an interview to release [Downes] immediately”.
According to the state, the officer in charge of the interview then sought confirmation from Kadwa because there were no documents supporting the existence of a section 252A undercover operation.
Concerns were raised in court about the possibility of witness interference, particularly because of Khan’s position within SAPS.
The magistrate stressed that the accused were prohibited from contacting state witnesses.
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Electronic devices belonging to accused one and accused two, including mobile phones and laptops, were seized during the arrests for forensic examination.
The defence requested that priority be given to analysing the devices and asked the state to provide a timeline for their return.
Prosecutors told the court that one of the accused had allegedly refused to provide access credentials for a cellphone, forcing investigators to apply for a warrant to gain access to the device, which could delay the investigation.
Khan’s name previously surfaced during testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where allegations were made describing him as a “political fixer” who allegedly interfered in sensitive investigations.
On the first count, the state alleges the three accused unlawfully and intentionally acted with a common purpose to acquire or possess unwrought precious metal without the required licence, authorisation, certificate or permit under the Precious Metals Act.
On the second count, the state alleges the accused acted with intent to defeat or obstruct the course of justice by giving police a false explanation that Downes was an undercover agent.
The matter was postponed to 14 July for further investigation.
