‘Mastermind’ behind Kloof hit back in jail

Durban businessman, Dain Neveling claims to have an alibi on the day his business partner was shot. The bail application of Dain Neveling is now in its third week. File picture: Gcina Ndwalane

Durban businessman, Dain Neveling claims to have an alibi on the day his business partner was shot. The bail application of Dain Neveling is now in its third week. File picture: Gcina Ndwalane

Published Dec 1, 2015

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Durban - The alleged mastermind behind a plot to murder a Kloof businessman is back behind bars and facing several more charges.

Dain Neveling, 35, was arrested on Friday by the Hawks and appeared in the Durban Regional Court on Monday on reinstated charges of conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.

He is also facing additional charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and intimidation.

Neveling was initially arrested last month, with Hendrik Nunez and Jorgen Jorgensen, in connection with a plan to kill his business partner Grant Jones in two incidents.

In the first incident, in July, Jones was shot five times, and as result he now uses a wheelchair.

In the second incident, in October, the Hawks were made aware of the plot and staged Jones’s “murder” with a police officer posing as the hit man, and the three men were arrested.

In a bizarre twist, on Monday Neveling stood in the dock of the same court where his former co-accused had confessed to their roles in the crimes and named him as the man behind the plot two weeks ago.

Neveling had seemed to be in the clear before the guilty pleas by Jorgensen and Nunez as conspiracy and attempted murder charges against him had been dropped earlier this month on the instructions of a deputy director of public prosecutions.

The Mercury understands that the charges were reinstated after Jones and his family raised their concerns about the case with the director of public prosecutions, advocate Moipone Noko.

Prosecutor Barend Groen told the court the State would oppose bail and said additional charges could be added.

Neveling’s attorney, Jacques Botha, said his client needed to be kept in the medical ward at Westville Prison because of his being type 1 diabetic.

Botha handed a doctor’s letter to the court that said Neveling needed insulin injections several times a day and had to continuously check his blood glucose levels.

In their pleas to the court, Jorgensen, who knows Neveling as they attended the same school, and Nunez said Neveling had asked them to “rough up” Jones and steal a debt book from him.

They claimed Neveling fired the shots in the July incident and later offered them R210 000 to “finish the job”.

They approached another man, which led to the police finding out about the plot.

Both men agreed to testify against Neveling and were sentenced in terms of a plea bargain agreement with the State.

In terms of the agreement they were given 10-year jail terms, which were wholly suspended for five years on condition they were not convicted of murder in the period of suspension. They were each ordered to pay R100 000 compensation to Jones.

The case was adjourned to next week for Neveling to apply for bail.

The Mercury

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