Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan testifies before the Madlanga Commission about police management's inaction on complaints about Major-General Feroz Khan.
Image: HENK KRUGER
Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan told the Madlanga Commission on Monday that the now-retired top cops, former National Commissioner General Khehla Sitole and Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, the former Hawks head, were warned about Major General Feroz Khan’s alleged involvement with illicit cigarette smugglers, but no action was taken.
O’Sullivan was testifying before the Commission, where he stated that the infiltration of police by criminal syndicates was nothing new, citing that as early as the 1990s senior law enforcement officers were convicted for criminality.
He said in 2021, he received a tip-off about Khan, the deputy head of Crime Intelligence and head of Counter and Security Intelligence, that he was involved with illicit cigarette smugglers, and sent a complaint to Sitole and Lebeya.
“My complaint raised allegations of General Khan’s involvement with persons involved in the illegal tobacco trade. It also pointed out the extraordinary conflict of interests presented by General Khan’s position as a director of multiple companies, including two motor spares businesses, while he was a General in crime intelligence,” O’Sullivan said.
At that time, Khan was the Crime Intelligence head in Gauteng.
O’Sullivan said: “Khan is allegedly involved in facilitating drug trafficking with Nazif Modack, of the Western Cape. He was involved in chop-shops and the selling of the products thereof. He is involved in money laundering for criminals in the underworld. He allegedly protects certain criminals, notably Mr Preggy Padayachee, who is a close friend of ex DNC, Vineshkumar Moonoo, who is currently alleged to be involved in illicit tobacco trade. He has no security clearance and would not get security clearance because of his covert criminal activities and questionable business activities.”
He stated that it should be impossible for a full-time major-general in the police to be moonlighting as a director of 10 businesses and at least two of those businesses indicate a trade in spare car parts, an activity diametrically opposed to the work of crime intelligence, given the high levels of vehicle crime in Gauteng.
He described as “disconcerting and ironic” that his complaint regarding Khan’s alleged connections to the illegal tobacco industry prompted Khan to send a lawyer's letter to the National Commissioner, a copy of which was allegedly shared with an individual linked to that industry.
“It demonstrates to me the close proximity of a major-general in Crime Intelligence, and the allegedly illegal tobacco trade. I find it even more disconcerting that police management did nothing about my complaint, which I believe has become standard practice, in protecting corrupt police officers from sanction,” O’Sullivan said.
He added that he never received a response from Sitole or Lebeya.
O’Sullivan further stated that in 2023, he sent a complaint about Khan to the suspended National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola.
O’Sullivan said that he did not receive any feedback and has not seen any evidence that anything was done by Masemola, or anyone else within SAPS, in relation to the allegations against Khan.
“I remain of the view that this clearly demonstrates that successive police leaders look the other way, when they should be acting against corrupt officers unless it suits their agenda to do something about it, then they take action very quickly, sometimes unlawfully quickly,” he said.