Controversial former intelligence officer Bheki Jacobs is likely to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court today on charges which police spokesman Phuti Setati yesterday said were still being formulated.

Setati refused to identify Jacobs, saying only that a 41-year old man was arrested in Cape Town at the weekend.

"We are still in the process of formulating charges against him. Certain allegations were made against the suspect and we cannot comment on what they are because we believe it might tamper with our investigation," Setati said yesterday.

However, the Sunday Times reported yesterday that Jacobs was arrested on a warrant relating to a fraudulent passport. He was also suspected of compiling a dossier containing allegations of a plot to oust or kill President Thabo Mbeki.

The Cape Town Magistrate's Court said police had a reasonable suspicion that Jacobs may be linked to a case of conspiracy to commit murder and a charge of crimen injuria.

The dossier was apparently given to Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille anonymously. It alleges that there is a plot to kill Mbeki; that there is massive corruption in several government institutions, particularly the intelligence services; and that two high-profile public figures spied for the apartheid government.

Jacobs has denied he was the author of the document. A former exile, he has been branded as an "impostor" by the National Intelligence Agency.

With acknowledgements to Xolani Xundu and the Business Day.