It’s 7.23pm. The guards manning North Gate 1, which provides access to OR Tambo International Airport’s restricted area, are settling in for the night. They’re getting anxious. The sun set almost an hour earlier, yet there’s still no sign of two police officers who were supposed to report for duty. This, according to a confidential report seen by the Financial Mail that has never been made public, is highly unusual. The access gate is only used by vehicles belonging to the police, fire brigade and ambulance services. The police are responsible for manning this gate "24 hours a day". But on the evening of March 7, no-one arrived. Suddenly a Toyota double-cab bakkie with police markings and a Ford Focus ST burst on the scene. Both vehicles have blue lights. The guards at the gate, who work for Reshebile Aviation & Protection Services, are tied up at gunpoint in their control room while the Ford and the bakkie enter Gate 1 with blue lights flashing and sirens wailing. Some of the occup...
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