A tale of drugs, money and cars

Published Aug 1, 2002

Share

Irvin Khoza, "The Iron Duke" of South African soccer, has been dogged by controversy.

Allegations that have surfaced against him include:

- April 21 1996 - The family of missing Soweto businessman Robert "Rocks" Dlamini said he had been demanding R1,5-million from Irvin Khoza at the time of his disappearance on April 6 1995.

- April 28 1996 - Confessed drug dealer Billy Villa told police that Khoza was linked to a R1,5-million Mandrax deal involving missing businessman and socialite Dlamini.

Villa claimed he smuggled R1,5-million to Bombay to buy Mandrax tablets for a syndicate headed by himself.

- Alleged drug kingpin Vicky Goswamy allegedly sent Khoza to the Planet cinema in Fordsburg to deliver R100 000 to Dlamini.

Villa said trouble between Khoza and Dlamini escalated when it became clear the full consignment of tablets was not going to be delivered. Villa alleged that Dlamini threatened to expose Khoza and Goswamy if he was not paid.

Khoza insisted he did not know what the money was for and accused Dlamini of trying to blackmail him.

- May 2 1996 - Khoza considered instituting a defamation suit against individuals and organisations he believed harmed his reputation.

- December 12 1999 - Khoza was implicated in a R3-million car deal with National Intelligence Agency surveillance unit general manager Sizwe Mthembu. It was claimed that Mthembu channelled the money from his budget to Khoza, who was used as a middleman to buy the vehicles, but some luxury cars were instead registered in Safa's name and insured through its insurance company.

Related Topics: