Captain KGB sidekick arrested in 'breakthrough'

A man linked to convicted former Crime Intelligence policeman Captain Morris "KGB" Tshabalala was arrested yesterday in a pre-dawn raid.

Police believe that the arrest of Louis Manyazi in Paarl by Crime Intelligence officers is a major breakthrough in their attempt to catch a gang of armed robbers linked to Tshabalala.

Tshabalala - who was involved in assessing threats to President Jacob Zuma when he was a Crime Intelligence officer - is to appear in the Sasolburg Magistrate's Court today in connection with a R3-million cash heist in Sasolburg in February .

He is serving a 10-year prison sentence for a 1994 armed robbery in Mamelodi, Pretoria, in which Manyazi was an accomplice.

Both were convicted and withdrew their appeals against their convictions in 1998.

Despite this, neither Tshabalala nor Manyazi was imprisoned - and Tshabalala's conviction mysteriously disappeared from the police's criminal records.

An internal police investigation is under way into how Tshabalala's conviction record disappeared.

A police source yesterday said Manyazi was being investigated for his possible involvement in several other heists allegedly masterminded by Tshabalala.

"He claims that he is living an honest life but information we have indicates otherwise," said the police source. "We believe he has played a significant role in several other major crimes, which will form part of a larger investigation into Tshabalala."

Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko said Manyazi would begin his sentence for the 1994 robbery immediately.

He would not give details of the current investigation into Manyazi's activities.

"The investigation is sensitive ... all I can say is that it is part of a broader investigation," he said.

Of the investigation into how Tshabalala's conviction disappeared from police records, he said: "It is also at a sensitive stage ... progress is being made ."