Fire destroys NIA offices

DURBAN police are investigating possible arson after a fire destroyed covert offices of the National Intelligence Agency.

The blaze a week ago gutted the top floor of a building that also houses a branch of the SA Revenue Service in Mount Edgecombe.

By the time firefighters had contained the blaze, the entire fourth storey, which was occupied by the NIA, had been gutted.

State Security Agency spokesman Brian Dube declined to comment, saying: "We cannot confirm or deny if those were offices of the NIA."

However, police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said: "We confirm that the SAPS is investigating a case of arson and that the premises that caught alight were occupied by the NIA."

Naicker said an arson expert had inspected the scene, but the cause of the blaze was still unknown.

One fireman was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. The building was unoccupied at the time.