Cape town - Convicted ivory dealer Mark Goldberg appeared in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday to appeal and review the conviction and sentence handed down to him in 2011.
Goldberg was convicted in the Cape Town Regional Court in July 2011 for the unlawful possession and sale of African elephant ivory without a permit. Months later, he was sentenced to seven years behind bars, two of which were suspended.
The seized ivory weighed more than 1 500kg and was worth R32 million.
Goldberg’s argument was that he inherited the business from his mother Sonja Marcus when she died.
On Thursday, his advocate, Reuben Liddell, submitted that the State could not prove that Goldberg was the owner of the ivory at the time.
He further submitted that police went to the Sea Point curio shop to search the premises without a warrant.
“There is an unusual set of facts. His mom had purchased ivory for several years and she was the one who dealt with ivory. The state has to prove whether he or his mother was in possession.”
Prosecutor Willem Tarantaal told the court that Goldberg was co-manager of the shop and therefore the items sold were under his control.
Liddell told the court that he agreed the State should not only prove that Goldberg was in possession of the goods, but that it was sold for his own benefit: “As the court pointed out, all the people who work there, the co-manager, his wife would also then be offenders for working in the shop without a permit.
“His mother ran the business and even repaired items from her house.
“When she died she confirmed ownership of the goods and left it to her son. Can one say that the State proved he is guilty within a reasonable doubt? The answer is no.”
Goldberg’s sentence has been put on ice pending the appeal, which was expected to continue today.
Cape Argus