By Hanti Otto, Themba wa Sepotokele and Jillian Green
Alleged Boeremag coup plotter Tom Vorster, who for months had been a fugitive from justice, "was living under the noses of police" until his arrest.
Director Sally de Beer, spokesperson for National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi, said Vorster, 51, was arrested on Monday in connection with charges of terrorism, high treason and sabotage.
De Beer would not say where or how Vorster had been apprehended, except that police had caught him in Gauteng.
She was adamant Vorster had not been connected to last week's bombings in Soweto and Bronkhorstspruit, "but we are investigating all avenues".
"We are confident that further breakthroughs will follow," De Beer said.
Police released an identikit of Vorster, a self-employed businessman from Garsfontein, Pretoria, in August. He is alleged to be a leader of the Boeremag, a group allegedly planning a takeover of the government.
In "Document 12", the group set out their plans to take over military bases and sow racial and religious discord around South Africa.
Already, 17 men - many of them army officers - have been arrested and will stand trial for treason, terrorism and sabotage next year. Vorster is expected to be added to the list of accused in that trial.
A state witness testified during the bail application of the men already arrested that police had reason to believe Vorster had hidden his wife somewhere and moved underground to continue with the group's plans.
Vorster was expected to appear in the Pretoria magistrate's court on Tuesday.
A right-wing source said he had not thought Vorster would be caught because he had changed his appearance.
"He was in front of the police's noses all the time. Basically, he was living a normal life as part of society."
The source added that Vorster's ability to evade the police for so long was an indication of the public support he and his cause enjoyed.
Wit Wolf Barend Strydom said the series of arrests and trials of rightwingers by the state was irresponsible.
"We plan to release a list of names and photographs of people who have committed crimes against the boerevolk," Strydom added.
Before becoming a businessman, Vorster was a member of the old South African Defence Force.
It is believed he travelled to the US, where he had dealings with right-wing groups including the Ku Klux Klan.
Vorster was allegedly seen in Pretoria last week. A man claimed to have seen him board a bus in the city centre.
Director Phuti Setati, a spokesperson for the police, said: "We can confirm that this man called the police. We followed up the information, and police followed the bus and boarded it when it stopped. Unfortunately, there were only few people left on board, none of them fitting Vorster's description."