Spy cables: Spymasters looked into SA crime

Screen grabs from a one and a half minute youtube clip that suggests a version of Wikileaks that applies to South Africa and points out some of the challenges the S.A. government has faced and attempt to assassinate an African Union leader and is compiled with information from various intelligence agencies. It is an Aljazeera series called “Spy cables” and will cover espionage activities from 2006 to December 2014. Pictures: Youtube

Screen grabs from a one and a half minute youtube clip that suggests a version of Wikileaks that applies to South Africa and points out some of the challenges the S.A. government has faced and attempt to assassinate an African Union leader and is compiled with information from various intelligence agencies. It is an Aljazeera series called “Spy cables” and will cover espionage activities from 2006 to December 2014. Pictures: Youtube

Published Feb 26, 2015

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Johannesburg - The hijacking of a Moroccan representative in Pretoria led to the South African liaison officer in Rabat – Morocco’s capital – being summoned to the headquarters of Morocco’s foreign espionage service.

The agents’ meeting in December 2012 is recorded in a document leaked on news agency Al Jazeera’s website.

According to Al Jazeera, what was unusual about this meeting was the presence of two of Morocco’s most feared spymasters: the chief of the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) and its head of internal security.

The news agency said the DST director, Abdellatif Hammouchi, “is an unassuming, bespectacled man in his late forties. His name evokes whispers on the streets of Morocco of abductions and secret detention centres.”

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the hijacking near the Moroccan embassy during which their official was beaten up and kidnapped for five hours.

He was dumped on the outskirts of Pretoria.

The South African liaison officer said he was asked if there was a political motive for the attack, and he indicated that the police’s diplomatic branch was investigating.

He said hijackings were common and the modus operandi sounded like it was a criminal act.

The Moroccan representative was to be flown back home to recover.

The South African said Morocco was taking the issue seriously and that the Moroccans tended to be a bit paranoid.

He recommended a letter be sent expressing shock and concern about what had happened.

The Star

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