South Africa charged the head of police counter-intelligence with corruption and gold smuggling in a fresh blow to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration as it struggles to convince investors it can contain the risk of organized crime bleeding into the broader economy.
The arrest of Feroz Khan lands in the middle of a national inquiry into political interference and the criminal infiltration of South Africa’s security services. South African authorities have mounted a high-profile push to break protected networks widely thought to have become deeply embedded in the state.
Khan, a veteran official who once served on former South African President Nelson Mandela’s security detail, faces charges including corruption and the illegal possession of and dealing in precious metals. Prosecutors allege he and his co-accused facilitated a gold smuggling syndicate operating through South Africa’s O.R. Tambo International Airport.