The Conalinks illicit cigarettes

What it is

An unmarked pack of illicit cigarettes representing the alleged Conalinks tobacco operation. Conalinks is a business the Madlanga Commission links to Johannesburg businessman Mohammed Sayed; the commission's supporting affidavit alleges it was the vehicle for an illegal tobacco trading network that used SAPS crime intelligence resources to protect its operation and neutralise competitors. A 2021 WhatsApp exchange cited in the affidavit alleges Sayed directed Maj-Gen Feroz Khan to have a competitor, Proto-Tobacco in East London, 'taken out of sight' - followed shortly by a SAPS raid on that company.

Why it matters

The cigarettes represent the commercial engine behind the alleged Sayed-Khan relationship: a private tobacco interest that, if the commission's allegations are proven, captured a senior SAPS official to run competitors out of the market with state resources. Conalinks was also allegedly the source of a R650,000 donation to the EFF and a R2 million advance to Julius Malema, giving this thread political dimensions beyond organised crime.