State Security Agency probe kicks off
released to the public.
The brazen robbery of US dollars, euros, Botswana pulas and local currency estimated at more than R13 million reportedly took place at a highly secure section of the SSA facility, which could only be accessed by properly vetted, high-level personnel through a highly regulated access procedure.
Top members of the intelligence community familiar with the Pretoria facility said the stolen currency was not part of the SSA general cash reserve but earmarked for specific purposes, for which a proper requisition would have to be completed.
This was confirmed by SSA spokesman Brian Dube, who confirmed that the stolen cash was to have been used for “operational purposes”.
Dube also commented on the suspicions that the robbery could have been executed with the collusion of top spooks who had the requisite knowledge of and access to the area where the safe was located.
“We can confirm that an internal investigation into the matter is under way and we will take the necessary steps against those who are found to be involved. The investigation is wide-ranging, involving whoever is part and parcel of that process,” Dube said.
Meanwhile, the Hawks would not be drawn on whether the suspects were serving officials of the agency. “It is immaterial and it does not matter whether they are from inside or outside, as all will be revealed when they are brought to court,” said Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi. He would not reveal the location or the circumstances in which the suspects were arrested, saying only that investigations were ongoing.
Mulaudzi also pointed to the involvement of a specialised group in the heist. “More suspects are being sought as we are dealing with a syndicate.”
The Hawks official would also not be drawn on a parallel investigation into the robbery under way at the SSA. “That is a high-level matter for the State Security Agency and Parliament,” Mulaudzi said.
Jackie Cilliers, Institute for Security Studies executive director, told Independent Media the daring theft was widely believed to be “an inside job involving people who had inside information about the State Security Agency”.
He said the robbery was “only the tip of the iceberg” and was symptomatic of broader problems that surfaced during the process of streamlining and amalgamating structures associated with intelligence services over the past few years.
Part of the problem, he said, stemmed from the fact that “oversight of these structures is limited because there is a lack of broad public consultation and a new inspector-general of intelligence has still not been appointed”.
Cilliers said David Mahlobo, the minister in charge of the SSA, should “come clean and explain what had happened (so as) to recreate confidence in the State Security Agency”.