Cape Town - A constable from Grassy Park police station, facing charges of drug dealing and corruption, says he is innocent and had been acting as the middle man in the bargain sale of expensive takkies.
Ricardo Abrahams, who is on trial for allegedly arranging drug deals in Grassy Park and Parkwood, was testifying in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday.
Abrahams denied allegations that he had arranged drug deals between an undercover police agent and a drug dealer known as Linnie. He said he was merely acting as the middle man in the sale of Nike Jordan takkies, which according to Abrahams, usually retailed for more than R1 000 and which Linnie could organise for R500.
Abrahams had been working as a police officer for six years and 10 months and had been stationed at Grassy Park since 2009 before his arrest on February 22, 2012. He had also met Linnie in 2009.
Abrahams pleaded not guilty to two counts of corruption and two of dealing in drugs. The court had previously watched video footage of an undercover police agent showing two transactions in separate incidents in November and December 2011.
The first in November involved five grams of tik for R800, at a fast-food outlet in Grassy Park, and the second, in December involving 10 grams for R2 000, at a petrol station.
The agent said he was given R2 400 for the transaction, of which R400 was allegedly given to Abrahams as a reward.
It is the State’s case that on November 27, 2011, while Abrahams was on duty he met the agent. Yesterday, however, he testified he had been in charge of the charge office that day and entries in the occurrence books could account for his duties.
Prosecutor Simon Leope disagreed saying Abrahams could have “cooked the books” to make it seem as though he was at the station. Abrahams also denied that he was the man in the video footage recorded by the agent on November 27, 2011.
Answering questions from his defence attorney Dieter Oosthuizen, Abrahams denied ever talking to Linnie about drugs, buying any drugs or facilitating any drug dealing transactions involving Linnie.
He said he was contacted telephonically by the agent who claimed to have received his number from a mutual friend and who wanted to buy takkies.
Oosthuizen asked: “Why would he phone you? You don’t work at Jordan.”
Abrahams said he had previously bought the shoes from Linnie. Abrahams said all of their telephonic conversations and meetings were about the takkies.
Oosthuizen asked whether he knew Linnie was a dealer and Abrahams replied: “I never caught him with drugs, I never saw him with drugs and I never knew if he was drug dealer or not.”
Magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg postponed the matter to Wednesday.
The trial continues.
Cape Argus