Detective sergeant and Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) member, Witness N, has alleged that Investigating Directorate against Corruption (IDAC) investigator Suneel Bellochun extorted undocumented Pakistani and Bangladeshi foreign nationals, ran an unlawful money-lending operation and issued death threats.

Testifying partially in camera before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Friday afternoon, Witness N said she received detailed complaints from foreign national small businessmen in the Eastern Cape alleging possible extortion by Bellochun.

“Mr Muhammad fears for his life as Mr Bellochun regularly demands money from him, and he has received WhatsApp text from Mr Bellochun to pay his money back, or else he will kill him,” Witness N said.

“I understood this to be some kind of protection fee that Mr Bellochun was extorting from the individual. It stems from the provided bank statement from the victim which depicts regular payments weekly, or two days apart, of exorbitant amounts,” she added.

Witness N testified that she was contacted in December 2025 by Neil Naidoo, former Director of Community Safety in the Eastern Cape, after Pakistani shop owners reported alleged extortion by a law enforcement official.

She told the commission that Muhammad alleged that Bellochun had demanded regular payments from him over many years.

According to Witness N, Muhammad alleged that Bellochun assaulted him, acted as his landlord and repeatedly threatened him after criminal charges were laid against him.

“Mohamed opened a case against Bellochun, and later Bellochun threatened him that ‘his police’ will deal with him,” Witness N said.

She confirmed that the case against Bellochun “went nowhere”, and referred to WhatsApp messages allegedly supplied by Muhammad as evidence.

Reading one of the alleged messages into the record, she said: “The message by Suneel Bellochun… says ‘my people are looking for you’.”

The detective told the commission that Muhammad alleged Bellochun had exploited undocumented foreign nationals over an extended period through high-interest loans and demands for regular payments.

She further testified that the relationship appeared to amount to either unlawful money lending or outright extortion.

Questioned about the financial arrangements, Witness N said the transactions reflected a significant discrepancy between the amounts allegedly borrowed and the sums ultimately paid back.

She also testified that several other foreign nationals had allegedly lodged similar complaints.

As part of her evidence, Witness N referred to a 2014 Daily Dispatch article reporting Bellochun’s arrest during a Hawks sting operation for allegedly soliciting R30,000 from a spaza shop owner.

She stressed, however, that the newspaper article did not form part of her formal statement and was mentioned only in response to questions about the existence of previous allegations.

The witness further told the commission that another fraud and corruption case had allegedly been opened against Bellochun at Pretoria West police station in 2021, and that she understood a warrant had been issued before his subsequent appointment to IDAC.

Witness N also referred to a supporting statement from an unnamed Bangladeshi national, who alleged that Bellochun had lent him R20,000 at what he described as exorbitant weekly interest rates before demanding his Chevrolet Captiva as security.

According to the statement, when he was unable to repay the loan, Bellochun refused to allow him to sell the vehicle himself, insisting that he would find the buyer and retain the proceeds.

“I told him I was not fine with it as I was going to suffer a huge loss but I did not want to fight with him so I should just sign and let him as he pleases,” the complainant stated.

Earlier in the day, the commission heard evidence from Witness O, a Crime Intelligence colonel, whose testimony centred on IDAC head Andrea Johnson’s handling of a complaint involving suspended Gauteng Crime Intelligence deputy head Major-General Feroz Khan.

The colonel testified that Johnson instructed her to forward an email containing a complaint against Khan directly to him and then delete the email.

She refused and kept an electronic copy.

Witness O recalled that on the day of the alleged assault involving Brigadier Leonara Phetle, Khan remarked that he had “put Brigadier Phetle in her place”, although she added that such conduct was out of character because she had never known him to be someone who got into fights.

She further testified that Phetle ultimately resigned and that the assault complaint was never pursued.

The colonel also told the commission that Johnson’s husband had worked in Crime Intelligence and had developed a close professional relationship with Khan, adding that Johnson and her husband attended Khan’s 50th birthday celebration.

Witness O affirmed the earlier testimony of earlier witnesses, retired Hawks Colonel Kobus Roelofse and Captain Mark McLean regarding the handling of complaints involving Khan, reinforcing their accounts before the commission as it continues examining allegations of corruption and interference within IDAC.

Proceedings concluded for the day, with the commission to continue on Monday morning.

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The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry is expected to hear evidence relating to the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) and suspended Gauteng Crime Intelligence head Major-General Feroz Khan on Friday, with two key witnesses applying to testify partially in camera while protecting their identities.

The applications, brought in terms of Rules 4.2 and 4.3 of the Commission’s rules, relate to Witness N, a South African Police Service (SAPS) detective attached to the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), and Witness O, a member of Crime Intelligence.

Witness N, an Eastern Cape-based PKTT detective who also serves in the KwaZulu-Natal Anti-Corruption Unit, is expected to testify about allegations involving a senior IDAC investigator.

According to the supporting affidavit, the detective was introduced to a foreign national while conducting unrelated investigations in the Eastern Cape in January 2026.

The individual allegedly claimed that he and other immigrant shop owners in East London were being extorted in exchange for protection.

The affidavit further states that the complainant alleged he was assaulted by the investigator in September 2025 and opened a criminal case but received no assistance.

It also alleges that the investigator was involved in other criminal activities, including the sale of counterfeit cigarettes, providing fraudulent South African identity documents to undocumented immigrants and lending money to vulnerable immigrant business owners at exorbitant interest rates.

The application states that two additional witnesses have provided statements corroborating aspects of the allegations.

According to the affidavit, Witness N is deployed to the Political Killings Task Team investigating matters linked to the University of Fort Hare, where investigations have involved senior politicians and university officials and have been associated with murders and attempted assassinations.

The application argues that publicly identifying the detective could expose the identities of other PKTT members, compromise ongoing investigations, discourage informants from coming forward and potentially reveal the identities of Tactical Response Team and National Intervention Unit members who provide operational protection.

The commission is also expected to hear a similar application from Witness O, a Crime Intelligence member who is expected to testify about the handling of a criminal complaint against Khan relating to an alleged assault and intimidation incident in June 2018.

According to the supporting affidavit, Witness O will testify about a request allegedly made by IDAC head Andrea Johnson concerning the criminal complaint.

“The witness believes that Advocate Andrea Johnson, a senior prosecutor at the time, acted improperly in respect of this matter,” the affidavit states.

The application says the witness questioned the propriety of Johnson’s conduct but feared the consequences of reporting her concerns.

It states that she later made a protected disclosure to Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation officials seconded to IDAC in June 2022 in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act.

According to the affidavit, members of the investigative team are expected to testify about alleged interference by then National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi and Johnson in the investigation that followed.

The commission’s legal team said Witness O considers herself a whistleblower and fears occupational prejudice if her identity is disclosed.

“The witness harbours the fear that her appearance before the Commission poses particular employment-related risks to her, including but not limited to loss of trust amongst her colleagues and seniors,” the affidavit states.

Although Witness O is willing to testify in open proceedings without voice distortion, the application seeks an order protecting her identity by keeping her name and image confidential.

The commission is expected to hear both applications on Friday morning before the witnesses give evidence.

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