High stakes in Louca’s murder trial

George Louca is back in court. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

George Louca is back in court. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

Published Jan 24, 2015

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Johannesburg -

Sitting in a cell beneath a magistrate’s court in Limassol, Cyprus, George Louca looked exhausted as he puffed on a cigarette.

Saying he wasn’t responsible for the murder of Teazers owner Lolly Jackson and that his extradition was pointless because he would not talk, Louca appeared hardened, scruffy and frustrated with the court proceedings.

He says if he reveals who was responsible, this would be the end of him as his knowledge of the Joburg underworld is vast.

Fast forward two years to last year, the extradition process has ended and Louca had been shipped back to South Africa.

Looking more than a little wary as he was brought into the Kempton Park Magistrate’s court, Louca bore little resemblance to the photo circulated after Jackson’s 2010 murder. It was believed that Louca was the assassin that pumped the strip-tease magnate full of bullets, but the Cypriot has denied the allegations.

He told The Saturday Star back in 2012 that he knew who was responsible, and on Monday, when his murder trial is set to start, he may finally name the figure, or figures, behind the grim hit.

But first, the second set of charges that helped South African authorities bring him back - theft and possession of stolen property - have to be addressed. Louca was charged for a separate incident, after he was found to be holding more than R1.5 million in goods from Skye Footwear in the mid-2000s. Louca was to have appeared in court on this charge the day after he fled South Africa in 2010. The case was back in court yesterday.

It has been insinuated that these other charges - as well as two others of racketeering and fraud dropped in September - were pursued only to improve the State’s chances of extraditing Louca. Multiple sources close to the investigation say a trial for the stolen property case is highly unlikely.

It’s understood that Louca has been dealing with investigators for months, trying to determine a suitable plea agreement for the killing and the possession of stolen property charge. With his high court murder trial just around the corner, it’s unlikely that the State would want to stall the more urgent proceedings to deal with footwear.

Louca has been kept from the broader prison population. His lawyer, Owen Blumberg, says this is for his own safety. Louca’s later appearances at the Kempton Park court were by Skype video feed.

On December 8, however, Louca appeared in person in court on the theft charge, with a large security team checking for threats.

The court heard how Louca had opted for a section 105 plea agreement, with a bid for a non-custodial sentence. The short proceedings ended with Louca speaking for some time with one of the investigating officers.

The question remains if Louca is as valuable a State witness as the level of protection warrants us to believe, but his links to the underworld are concrete.

Louca has been linked to Czech businessman Radovan Krejcir in the SA Revenue Service (Sars) preservation order against Krejcir.

In its founding affidavit, Sars said Louca had borrowed more than R3.7 million in loans from Krejcir’s company, G2B.

When Louca defaulted on his payments, a number of expensive assets were seized, including a Bavaria Motoryacht and dozens of motor vehicles.

Krejcir has been charged with the kidnapping of a relative of a business associate after a tik shipment disappeared. He has also been accused of plotting to murder the investigators looking into his affairs.

Several other men linked to the underworld have been killed since Jackson’s murder. They include Jackson’s lawyer, Ian Jordaan, and Jackson’s protégé, Mark Andrews.

German national Uwe Gemballa, murdered soon after arriving in South Africa, allegedly had links to Jackson. Western Cape security expert Cyril Beeka, a Jackson associate, was killed by gunmen riding on a motorbike.

- Saturday Star

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