Cape Town – The National Prosecuting Authority reportedly found that the so-called spy tapes were got through dubious and possibly criminal means and that they identify former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils as the mastermind behind most of the political manoeuvring at the time of the Polokwane battle, reports the Sunday Times.According to the newspaper, the tapes, which were handed over to the Democratic Alliance last week, allegedly confirm suspicions of political interference in the running of both the police and the prosecuting authority.Meanwhile, the DA’s national spokesperson Phumzile van Damme on Saturday confirmed that the party’s leader Helen Zille had already read a transcript of the tapes but that she could not comment. Van Damme said the party would make an announcement about the way forward once their lawyers had reviewed the tapes.As reported by News4 last week, the NPA handed the material to the court earlier on Thursday, before it was given to the DA.This followed the Supreme Court of Appeal ruling last week that within five days the NPA had to comply with a previous order, in an application brought by the DA, to release the tapes. President Jacob Zuma had opposed the move.The recordings, internal memoranda, reports and minutes of meetings dealing with the contents of the recordings had to be provided.On Thursday Zille said the DA would use the information as evidence in its review application of the withdrawal of over 700 counts of corruption against President Jacob Zuma in 2009.The tapes, containing recorded phone conversations, allegedly reveal collusion between the former heads of the Directorate of Special Operations, the now defunct Scorpions, Leonard McCarthy, and the NPA’s former head Bulelani Ngcuka, to manipulate the prosecutorial process before the ANC’s Polokwane conference in 2007. Zuma was elected ANC president at the conference.At the time, acting NPA boss Mokotedi Mpshe said they showed there was a political conspiracy against Zuma and so the case against him could not continue. The charges were dropped shortly before Zuma was sworn in as president in 2009.