Zondo commission hears how police officials planned to destroy evidence
A former crime intelligence official, known as Colonel Dhanajaya Naidoo, has told the commission of inquiry into state capture that senior officials in the unit wanted to destroy evidence related to the looting of a secret service account.
Naidoo began his in-camera testimony through an audio link from an unknown location on Friday.
He has been in witness protection since October 2011 as the key witness in at least nine investigations by the Hawks into the looting of the secret service account and nepotism at crime intelligence.
Naidoo's testimony is expected to implicate 45 people, including senior police officials.
Some of those implicated are referred to by code names.
He told the commission that he confessed to the Hawks in October 2011 that he was part of a group of officials who fraudulently submitted claims and benefitted from the funds meant for crime intelligence work.
The group included the unit's former CFO Solly Lazarus.
Naidoo said he was taken to Lazarus home, where he was questioned about his admissions.
"At this stage, there was just general conversation up to a stage that FM10 made a statement that his contact at the Hawks had informed him that I hade certain admissions to them and that I am now on the side of the Hawks. Chair, I again had to go on defense mode and denied what was being said and at this stage, I started getting uncomfortable as more questions were posed to me about my admissions to the Hawks."
He said a senior general in crime intelligence had requested information regarding the air travel tickets which needed to be destroyed.
Some of these air travel tickets are alleged include those of Lazarus family and friends, including former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli's family and friends, whose flights around the country and abroad were apparently fraudulently paid for through the secret service account.