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Security experts have poured cold water on Police Minister Nathi Nhleko and State Security Minister David Mahlobo’s outcry over alleged “intelligence equipment” used by the so-called SA Revenue Service (Sars) rogue unit to spy on people.
They say the gadgets were common tools used by many private companies and government institutions in the country.
City Press’ sister newspaper, Rapport, showed security experts the list of 21 devices and three training courses that Nhleko included in his presentation at a media briefing this month, saying they were the subject of a Hawks investigation.
“The items on the list are not much of a smoking gun,” said Michael Stirling of the firm Intertel. He said even the small spy cameras listed were used for protection purposes.
Nhleko and Mahlobo argued that a key reason for the Hawks’ investigation into the dissolved Sars unit was that it allegedly used the equipment to spy on Sars colleagues and the National Prosecuting Authority.
“Indeed, the equipment Minister Nhleko presented is equipment of intelligence ... without a doubt. A determination is going to be made on [whether the equipment was] in the rightful hands of authorised people,” Mahlobo said.
Dissolved unit head Johann van Loggerenberg insists his unit didn’t buy or use the equipment, and that the gadgets on Nhleko’s list were used by members of Sars’ security division instead.
Security experts argued that the equipment was widely used by companies and government to protect themselves from spying. The Wolfhound Pro, one of the items on Nhleko’s list, is a scanner for bugging equipment.
Private investigator Kyle Condon of D&K Management Consultants said: “Institutions like the SA Reserve Bank definitely have internal security divisions that use this kind of equipment.”
TSCM Services’ Lorenzo Lombard, who supplies some of the equipment on Nhleko’s list, said: “The equipment is freely available. You can buy it online or from suppliers like us.”
Nhleko’s spokesperson, Musa Zondi, said: “As I understand it, the minister of state security [Mahlobo] said they would inspect the equipment to determine whether it was legal [to own] or not. We will not comment before then.”
Mahlobo’s spokesperson, Brian Dube, said the investigation into the purchase and use of the equipment continues.
“It will be improper to discuss the merits of the issues at this point,” he said.
Sars did not respond to inquiries by the time of going to print. – Rapport
