Johannesburg - The escort provided to the Gupta wedding guests who arrived on a private chartered jet at the Waterkloof Air Force Base was not provided by police, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said.
A private security company - which illegally fitted blue lights to vehicles with false number plates - was involved.
Police and metro police officers apparently working in the security escort had since been arrested, Radebe said.
A total of five senior government officials and military personnel have also been suspended over the unauthorised landing of the Gupta plane at Waterkloof - a national key point - on Tuesday morning.
Radebe said in Pretoria on Friday a preliminary probe had been done, but a full investigation by the directors general of the affected departments was under way.
The committee of DGs would report back to Cabinet within seven days, he told reporters.
The Gupta family chartered jet was moved off the air force base on Thursday afternoon, after widespread outrage about private use of a military facility.
The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) said the plane flew to nearby commercial OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
“Government is gravely concerned at this violation of the security protocol and total disregard of established practice for clearing the landing of aircraft in a military facility that is of strategic importance to the country,” Radebe said.
“Government has no record of a note verbale from the Indian High Commission notifying the department of international relations and co-operation of a visiting delegation requiring diplomatic assistance and aircraft clearance and landing rights.”
Radebe said the defence attaché of the Indian High Commission sent a request for aircraft clearance directly to the Air Force Command Unit within the SANDF on April 4.
“The SA Air Force consulted with the Office of State Protocol at (the department) and facilitated the clearance of the aircraft without informing the Chief of the SANDF.”
Radebe said the officials involved in co-ordinating the landing of the aircraft, without the requisite executive authority, “have since been put on compulsory/special leave at (the department of international relations), the SANDF, and (the SA Police Service) respectively”.
The SA Civil Aviation Authority would also impose a penalty on the operator of the A330 for violation of the Civil Aviation Regulations. The Airbus A330 belonged to Jet Airways.
The agency did not specify the action, saying this would be decided once all the facts were in.
A CAA statement said the jet’s removal from Waterkloof placed it in civilian airspace.
A team of CAA inspectors then inspected the plane at OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday.
“The team confirmed that the aircraft did not have a Foreign Operator Permit as is a requirement for civilian operation.”
But it found the jet conformed to safety requirements, had an airworthiness certificate, and its maintenance records were up to date.
It said regulations required a foreign civilian plane landing at a military airfield to seek permission from the CAA to do so. This was subject to the Defence minister’s approval
The CAA had received neither. This statement served to back up Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s denial that she knew of the flight.
In Pretoria, Indian High Commissioner Virendra Gupta was summoned to a meeting on Friday with the Department of International Relations and Co-operation.
He was expected to tell officials that he followed standard procedure in seeking permission for the Gupta charter jet to land at Air Force Base Waterkloof.
He will do so as government officials consider his withdrawal to India as one of the options in dealing with the embarrassment.
But Gupta, no relation to the family at the centre of the row over wedding guests landing at the military airfield outside Pretoria, told SABC television on Thursday: “We did apply for permission for the landing... because there were several VIPs, senior political figures from India who were going to come on the flight.”
“And because of factors relating to security, it’s paramount.”
He said there was a concern about security when senior political figures travelled abroad.
“For the standpoint of convenience we applied for permission of landing the aircraft at Waterkloof following standard procedures.”
However, government officials said today that Gupta had not disclosed that over 200 private individuals would also be on the plane.
They added that because of this misrepresentation by the high commissioner they had doubts about whether they could trust him sufficiently to work with him in future. One of the options being considered, then, was to ask the Indian government to recall him.
The officials said the South African government would be contacting the Indian government indirectly in addition to the Gupta meeting today.
Radebe said: “The government would like to assure the South African public that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that we get to the bottom of this matter, and hold all those responsible for bringing our country into disrepute whoever they are and whatever position they hold,” Radebe said.
“We want to assure the South African public that we will do all in our power to strengthen security protocols and to ensure adherence to them.”
Daily News and Sapa