--- title: "Feroz Khan’s confiscated devices now accessible to Madlanga Commission investigators" description: "Beleaguered senior Crime Intelligence boss Major-General Feroz Khan has been summoned to appear at the Madlanga Commission in July and has given investigators access to state-owned electronic devices that were in his possession and confiscated during a raid on his Houghton apartment on 11 May." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "OPEN SESAME" author: "Marianne Thamm" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/mariannethamm/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-08-feroz-khans-confiscated-devices-now-accessible-to-madlanga-commission-investigators/" published: "2026-06-08T14:26:41" updated: "2026-06-08T20:54:52" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 965 --- # Feroz Khan’s confiscated devices now accessible to Madlanga Commission investigators > Beleaguered senior Crime Intelligence boss Major-General Feroz Khan has been summoned to appear at the Madlanga Commission in July and has given investigators access to state-owned electronic devices that were in his possession and confiscated during a raid on his Houghton apartment on 11 May. By Marianne Thamm · Published 8 June 2026, 16:26 SAST · Updated 8 June 2026, 22:54 SAST ## Key points - Former Crime Intelligence head Major-General Feroz Khan has allowed investigators access to his confiscated devices, a significant development for the ongoing Madlanga Commission probing corruption within the South African Police Service. - Khan had initially resisted the commission’s request, citing concerns about potential endangerment to lives and the illegal nature of the confiscation. - His change of heart comes as the commission gains momentum, extending inquiries into the alleged intertwining of crime, politics and police operations until August 2026. - With more than a dozen arrests linked to the commission, including high-ranking officials, Khan’s device access may uncover critical evidence of his alleged ties to criminal activities and corruption. ## Content Suspended Deputy Crime Intelligence head Feroz Khan has capitulated and abandoned his cases against the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to block access to his electronic devices, and a court order to this effect is expected imminently. This comes after tense behind-the-scenes negotiations at the weekend when the commission learned that Khan had “secretly” approached the Gauteng High Court in a bid to hold proceedings in camera and to deny public access to any of the inquiry’s affidavits. On Monday, Khan abandoned this application for proceedings to be held in camera and also his initial urgent application against the Madlanga Commission regarding his devices. He was served immediately with a notice to appear to testify on 1 July. The commission issued a statement explaining that following a case management meeting before Justice Lebogang Modiba, the withdrawal of both Khan’s applications was agreed to and will be embodied in a court order. The commission undertook to make its affidavits public as soon as this order is issued. The move could enable the specialised investigative team to unlock information regarding alleged criminal infiltration and political interference in SAPS and the criminal justice system. Khan’s name has cropped up multiple times at the Madlanga Commission, which is investigating claims of criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system, and has been extended to August 2026. ### **Lives at risk claim** The senior cop with connections in the tobacco industry and politics initially objected to the handing over of the devices to the commission after his arrest, claiming this had been illegal and could lead to “assassinations”, place lives at risk, or expose intelligence agents and operatives. [ANALYSIS The Feroz Khan-sized hole in Parliament’s ad hoc committee inquiry March 23, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/uXITe9zrMMIxc6o0zTv6tLf0Kyg=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/MajorGeneralFerozKhanheadofSAPSCounterandSecurityIntelligencecopy_565125.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-03-23-the-feroz-khan-sized-hole-in-parliaments-ad-hoc-committee-inquiry/) Khan has been closely linked to [Mohammadh Sayed](https://www.news24.com/politics/taking-a-khans-what-did-crime-intelligence-boss-do-at-eff-jamboree-20230729), co-founder of the tobacco company Carnilinx. In 2023, he was snapped at an Economic Freedom Fighters[(EFF) fundraiser](https://www.news24.com/politics/taking-a-khans-what-did-crime-intelligence-boss-do-at-eff-jamboree-20230729)where a more than R100,000 ticket bought him a place next to Sayed and his associate, [alleged cigarette smuggler Adriano Mazzotti.](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-12-11-mazzottis-smoke-n-mirrors-a-matter-of-taxes-fraud-smuggling-and-cigarettes/) Sayed purchased the ticket for Khan. Mazzotti and Sayed have repeatedly denied cigarette smuggling allegations. ### **Mkhwanazi’s allegations** Testifying at the final session of Parliament’s ad-hoc inquiry into police corruption on 17 March, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said Khan should have been called to the ad-hoc inquiry and that his office was “dirty”. Mkhwanazi also highlighted Khan’s alleged links to “Big Five’ cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, as well as North West businessman, fixer and alleged police informant Brown Mogotsi. He said Khan’s reach and influence cut across intelligence operations into “external networks” and shaped the conduct of the police. ### The OR Tambo pickup Khan currently faces charges alongside Gauteng Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI or Hawks) Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa. Both senior officers were arrested for contravening the Precious Metals Act and defeating the ends of justice. They were picked up after businessman Tariq Downes was busted at OR Tambo International Airport on 5 May 2021 with 75.9 grams of unwrought gold, valued at approximately R62,836 in his possession. He claimed to be an undercover agent. Khan allegedly lied and said Downes was part of an undercover operation. [Read more Crime Intelligence’s Feroz Khan accused of false undercover claim to free businessman May 11, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/gEGszUOwJ6kklTZwAY9sc-zRMqA=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/ED_608566_200387.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-11-crime-intelligences-feroz-khan-accused-of-false-undercover-claim-to-free-businessman/) Soon after his arrest, Khan’s devices were handed to Madlanga Commission investigators. Khan complained that the position adopted by the commission had been “troubling” from the start. At his bail hearing on 11 May, he noted in an affidavit that three specialised prosecutors had advised his attorney that they were attached to the commission and would have a say with regard to his bail. He accused the Madlanga Commission of being involved “from the day following my arrest”. Khan, in an attempt to have his devices returned, earlier told the Gauteng Division of the High Court that his application was “urgent in that the devices are in unknown hands, the lives of informants are at risk and the information contained in the devices is classified in nature”. While Khan claimed those handling the sensitive information on his devices didn’t have the required security clearance, the court heard that the Madlanga investigative team do have high-level clearance, while Khan, in fact, does not. ### Cocaine woes As Caryn Dolley has previously reported, Warrant Officer Steve Phakula, attached to the police’s National Intervention Unit, came under fire at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry for making contradictory statements about Khan’s links to a R286-million cocaine consignment. [Read more ‘Corridor gossip’ named Feroz Khan as owner of R286m cocaine consignment, cop tells commission May 13, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/W_MaD1rm8WlCREfSSXIePpZBUxA=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/pakula-cocaine-caryn3copy_336348.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-13-corridor-gossip-named-feroz-khan-as-owner-of-r286m-cocaine-consignment-cop-tells-commission/) During proceedings on 13 May, Phakula claimed that rumours had done the rounds that the cocaine had belonged to a senior Crime Intelligence officer, Major-General Feroz Khan. Khan previously faced internal disciplinary action over his presence at the cocaine interception, but was cleared. ### **Madlanga arrests** More than a dozen senior SAPS members have been arrested following evidence presented to the commission, led by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga. These arrests include National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and 12 senior SAPS officials who have appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on allegations of corruption linked to a corruption-ridden R360-million Medicare24 contract awarded to Matlala. [Read more Top cops in the dock — here’s the full list of Madlanga-related arrests May 12, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/_T684mw0nsOydsbqNDjGfRoXpeM=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/Vince-medicare24-tender-corruption_130737.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-12-top-cops-in-the-dock-heres-the-full-list-of-madlanga-related-arrests/) Other notable arrests were those of suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department deputy chief [Julius Mkhwanazi](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-23--court-hears-of-cover-ups-and-body-disposals-as-ekurhuleni-officials-apply-for-bail/) and Ekurhuleni City Manager Kagiso Michael Lerutla. Suspended Gauteng Organised Crime Unit Sergeant [Fannie Nkosi](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-15-while-fannie-nkosi-faces-fresh-charges-his-brother-keeps-tshwane-tender-/) was arrested in April 2026 when a raid on his Pretoria North home uncovered a stun grenade, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, SAPS equipment, stolen dockets and cash hidden under a mattress. He was denied bail and will return to court on 21 May 2026. **DM**