27 May 2010, 13:04
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Court hears of R100m robbery
State witness details SAA cargo robbery
Baldwin Ndaba
Two of the nine men charged with the R100-million robbery at the OR Tambo International Airport were arrested while trying to flee to Zimbabwe.
They were also caught in possession of US dollars allegedly stolen during the brazen robbery.
This was the testimony of the arresting officer, Captain Gregory Paulse, of the Johannesburg Serious and Violent Crime Unit in the High Court on Thursday morning.
Paulse came to the witness box moments after the State's main witness and convicted robber Nazir Ishmail fell sick while in the witness box.
Ishmail is suffering from a terminal illness and had to receive emergency treatment. He will return to testify if he has recovered.
Testifying in court, Paulse relived how he arrested Fox Shikunwela Sithole and Eddie Ubisi near the Beit Bridge border post on March 26 2006, a day after the robbery was successfully pulled at the airport.
He said they received information from an informant who also gave them the description of their car and clothes one of them was wearing. He said the two were caught with stacks of 50 US dollar notes.
"The money was placed in an exhibit bag and sealed and the exhibits and the suspects were handed over to Senior Superintendent Etienne Viljoen at Kranskop," Paulse said.
He said three days later, another accused Ananias Nefumembe was handed over to him at his Alexandra Serious and Violent Crime Unit offices. He said Nefumembe was accompanied by two of his employers at the Protea Coin Security.
The court heard that Nefumembe took the police to his house in Venda where he removed three plastic bags containing US dollars.
"I inspected the bags and found that they contained 50 and 100 US dollars. I placed it in an exhibit bag and sealed it. Myself, Ananias and his sister signed it," Paulse said.
Paulse could not answer what happened to the exhibit bag, which is not part of the exhibits since the trial started early this month.
It is believed that the cash allegedly found in Venda was stolen at the Benoni Police Station in 2006.
The trial continues.
The Star
Bank employee arrested for internet fraud
Gia Nicolaides | 1 Hour Ago
A Standard Bank employee was arrested in Soweto on Wednesday morning for allegedly being involved in an internet scam.
The 23-year-old allegedly received over R500 000 from anonymous depositors.
She was found at the Jabulani Mall wanting to draw a large amount of money.
The police’s Kay Makhubele said, “It was found that a deposit was made into her account. When we questioned her she could not explain where the money came from. It is also alleged that she is involved with an internet banking scam where people are banking money into her account.”
(Edited by Deshnee Subramany)
Eye Witness News
Comments by Sonny
We can see where our money is going!!
Convicted murderer a no-show for sentencing
27 May 2010, 14:26
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Simmering feud
An Estcourt businessman convicted of murder and two attempted murders failed to report to the Pietermaritzburg High Court for sentencing on Thursday.
The attorney of Mohamed Azeem Yunus, 35, said he had tried unsuccessfully to contact him for two days to sign documents for lodging an application for appeal against his conviction and possibly his sentence.
On May 14 Judge Achmat Jappie convicted Yunus of the murder of Vinol Ramsarap and attempted murders of Sarah Sathar and her small daughter Abhida.
The judge found that Yunus had shot at the bakkie in which they were travelling on the Estcourt-Mooi River stretch of the N3 highway in May last year. All were from Estcourt.
Yunus had claimed that he was on his way to Pietermaritzburg for a medical consultation when he saw Sathar's bakkie going in the same direction.
Sathar was travelling to the Pietermaritzburg New Prison to visit her son, who was on trial for allegedly murdering Yunus' sister Safia,
Judge Jappie rejected Yunus' defence that he fired in self defence.
Yunus had contended that Sathar was predisposed to violence and had a firearm, and told the court that when he saw her with a gun - in his car mirror and through tinted windows - as their vehicles levelled, he feared she would shoot him.
He submitted that he shot the vehicle nine times in self defence.
The judge found that Sathar did not have a gun with her at the time.
On Thursday Judge Jappie ordered that Yunus be given two weeks to report to court and if he failed to do so his bail of R10 000 would be forfeited. - Sapa
The Star
Comments by Sonny
So, bail after conviction , does not work, does it?
It is most likely that Yunus has already left the Country.
So much for fair justice to the victims!!
News flashes - May 27, 2010
May 27, 2010 Edition 4
R200 notes still legal tender
Businesses may not refuse to accept R200 notes from shoppers because they are still legal tender, the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) said yesterday. "All businesses should accept these. They are not allowed to turn away people. People have the right to exchange and trade," SARB head of currency and protection services Abubaker Ismail said at the launch of a public information campaign on the upgraded notes. The old notes have been recalled and can be exchanged for the new upgraded version at commercial banks countrywide until May 31, after which they can only be exchanged at the SARB offices and branches. The new R200 notes feature, among other things, the coat-of-arm in the front left corner, windowed security threads and a colour changing ink. It also has five diamond shapes with a raised feel to assist the blind. - Sapa
Bid to kill premier: legal help rejected
Five men accused of plotting to kill KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize will conduct their own defence, the Pinetown Magistrate's Court heard yesterday. Themba Xaba, 30; Jackson Chili, 30; Mlungisi Xulu, 24; Sthembiso Mthembu, 26; and Sizwe Mkhize, 31; told the court they did not need any legal representation during their bail application. The five men were charged with possession of illegal firearms and ammunition and conspiracy to commit murder. - Sapa
Support for picketing Netcare workers
The Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) yesterday offered its support to picketing healthcare workers at Netcare. "We are of the opinion that the employers are not respecting the valuable work that these healthcare workers are doing in this country and that they should be adequately rewarded for this," said Fedusa deputy general secretary Gretchen Humphries. The Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of SA said it had recently declared a dispute with management of the private hospital group. It had permission to strike, but would start with pickets. - Sapa
Municipal official couple on murder rap
A senior official at the Naledi local municipality and her husband appeared in the Wepener Magistrate's Court yesterday in connection with the murder of the municipality's mayor. Naledi's director for corporate services, Caroline Mokhothu, 43, and her husband James Mokhothu, 34, each face a charge of murder. Magistrate C Mogotho postponed the matter to June 8 for a formal bail application. ANC mayor Motlatsi Motloi, 32, was shot dead in front of his house in Wepener on May 3. - Sapa
Two store killers convicted
Two men, who left a trail of death and injuries when they opened fire in a robbery at a Pretoria family store in 2007, have been convicted on two charges of murder and four of attempted murder. In the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, Judge Peter Mabuse convicted Zweli Mkhize, 26, of KwaZulu-Natal and Jose George Khoza, 37, of Atteridgeville on charges of murdering two people and attempting to murder four others. The crime took place during a planned robbery at the Dealz Family Store in Claremont, Pretoria, on July 25, 2007. Mkhize was also convicted of the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. A third accused died before he could be tried and a fourth man, 20-year-old Musa Gumede, was earlier acquitted because of lack of evidence against him. Sentencing proceedings were to commence today. - Sapa
Strikers arrested on arson charge
Eighty-one striking workers have been arrested for stoning vehicles and setting fire to a building in Lusikisiki, near Mthatha, Eastern Cape police said yesterday. Magwa Tea Corporation workers became violent during a wage dispute on Tuesday and started stoning vehicles on a nearby road, damaging four of them, but not injuring anyone. The strikers also set fire to a guesthouse belonging to the corporation. The arrested strikers were to appear in the Lusikisiki Magistrate's Court today on charges of arson and malicious damage to property. - Sapa
Promise of beefed-up hospital security
Security measures at Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital will be stepped up to protect employees, the Gauteng Health Department said yesterday. This follows reports of threats against hospital employees involved in anti-corruption initiatives. Details of the allegations and how security would be improved were not immediately available. - Sapa
Recycling facility gets shut down
A recycling facility in Mariannhill was shut down after medical waste was discovered there, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture Environmental Affairs and Rural Development said yesterday. Investigations are continuing. - Sapa
School killing seen as gang related
WESTERN Cape Education MEC Donald Grant yesterday visited the school where 17-year-old pupil Keenan van Wyk was stabbed to death with a pair of scissors by a classmate. The killing was thought to be gang related, Grant said. His assailant was arrested. - Sapa
The Star
Comments by Sonny
We can go on a spending spree again....... R200 notes cannot be refused by SA
businesses!
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