18 May 2010, 06:44
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By Louise Flanagan and Shain Germaner
Police officers seized weapons and gold from a private security company and a refinery owner on Monday while they were transporting R20-million of the metal through Sandton.
The owner of the gold and his security team accused the police of breaking the law by searching a cash-in-transit team and its cargo in public.
"We were just finished melting it and pouring it and we were on our way to our depot to store it," said Juan Meyer.
He said the police could have known where they were only if someone was tapping his cellphone.
Meyer used a private security company with unmarked cars to transport the gold.
He told The Star his bodyguard and the rest of the security team were taken under guard to the Sandton police station, and he and his bodyguard were arrested.
Meyer, speaking to The Star at the police station, said he believed the police were trying to steal the gold. He said the police were harassing him because of a failed business deal with Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir.
He said Krejcir had approached him last year, offering to invest in multimillion deals with Meyer's refinery business. It fell apart when Meyer's banks blocked any dealings with Krejcir. There were suspicions that Krejcir hoped to use gold as currency to move money from Europe to South Africa.
Meyer said that since then, officers within the Sandton police had threatened him, and he had survived two attempts on his life. He believed Krejcir, who was recently linked to murdered strip club owner Lolly Jackson and the man alleged to have killed him, who uses the name George Smith, was behind the harassment.
Police told Meyer he and his guard had been arrested for possessing unrefined gold without a licence. Meyer said he had a licence for that and for his refinery, but the gold was refined and no licence was needed for that.
The police would not allow him to arrange for the delivery of documents to show they were legally entitled to have and to transport the gold, and insisted on first searching, then arresting them. Police would not allow Meyer's lawyer to be present while he was questioned.
Meyer said there were about six police vehicles and about 30 officers waiting for them in Katherine Street when they drove through Sandton in two unmarked vehicles.
"They knew exactly that there were valuables."
On Monday night, Captain Kym Cloete said the men were arrested by a Sandton patrol van around 4.20pm in terms of the Precious Metals Act, and they would appear in court.
The gold was processed in Krugersdorp at Meyer's refinery, Pan African Refineries. It had been sold for shipping to Hong Kong.
On Monday night, Meyer told The Star from the police cells he had been warned he would be arrested and attacked in custody. "This is an attempt to get me inside the cells. I don't know what's going to happen to me tonight."
This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on May 18, 2010
The Star
Comments by Sonny
These are the companies who get accredited by the SAPS and the SA government.
Many of them are criminals.
Only criminals with 'organised crime memberships' in SA get rich!
Ask the politicians.
If these claims are true, then Juan Meyer can sue the cops for millions.
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