Pietermaritzburg - Planting cocaine in a doctor's car and arresting him for possession of drugs were part of a campaign to drive him out of Pietermaritzburg, the city's high court heard on Tuesday.
This emerged during the trial of businessman Rajivee Soni, who is accused of the murder of Doctor Bhavish Sewram.
Soni was allegedly livid because he suspected Sewram of having an affair with his wife. Sewram was shot dead as he left his surgery in May 2013.
Former SA police service detective Sugen Naidoo, an alleged accomplice of Soni who has turned State witness, said he and Soni conceived the drug bust strategy because he wanted money from Soni. He wanted to reduce his debts for his drug purchases.
Sewram was subjected to a variety of false accusations, including crimes against patients. His surgery windows and his home wall were defaced with the words “Sex Doctor. Sex Pest”.
Evidence even earlier was that Soni was jubilant when these words were scribbled at night, but he was furious that they had been erased by early morning.
Naidoo testified that while he was dressed in plain clothes, a colleague in full uniform and driving a police vehicle was asked to arrest Sewram after the drug was planted in his car.
The police uniform and the vehicle with police insignia would make the arrest more convincing.
However when the colleague got to know about the plan, he said he did not want his time wasted and the plan was abandoned.
The trial continues.
Sapa