Cape Town - Hawks officers on Wednesday afternoon raided the home of author Jacques Pauw.
Jacques Pauw confirmed to News24 that three officers from the Hawks arrived at his home in Riebeek Kasteel, about 80km north-east of Cape Town.
"They are from the Hawks' crime against the state unit. They came here with a search warrant and gave me some time to send it to my lawyer first," he said.
Pauw said he was cooperating with the officers who had followed procedure.
"They said they were looking for secret state security files as part of their investigation."
Pauw said there wasn't anything like that lying around in his house.
His wife Sam Rogers added: "They are going through our restaurant files and CVs of locals who applied for jobs and old copies of Getaway [the travel magazine]."
Pauw's lawyer Willem de Klerk confirmed to News24 that the Hawks obtained a search and seizure warrant to conduct searches at the author's home.
"I can confirm that there is a legitimate warrant for search and seizure against Pauw. The warrant relates to supposed secret documents in the possession of the author. Pauw is giving his full co-operation to the police."
The case relates to a docket opened by the State Security Agency (SSA) at the Lyttleton police station in Pretoria.
Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed the search and seizures being carried out at Pauw's house.
"The warrant was granted by a magistrate in Malmesbury in Cape Town. It is a very complicated process and it was only granted to us today," he said.
In his book, The President's Keepers, Pauw revealed the existence of a parallel intelligence network within the SSA.
Mulaudzi said the warrant covered any documents and evidence that could assist in the investigations related to the case opened by SSA following the book's publication.
"We are working in conjunction with the NPA and it is in terms of violations of the National Strategic Intelligence Act."
News24