Johannesburg - One of the men accused of a cash-in-transit heist in Soweto along with former African National Congress staffer, Errol Velile Present, was alleged to have violated his parole conditions, the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court heard on Thursday.
Investigating officer Colonel Solomon Mabasa told the court that during the bail application of Present and his co-accused Itumeleng Manama‚ Bheki Biyela and Zakhele Zondi, that Biyela had a previous conviction involving the theft of money.
He was sentenced to five years and released on parole after serving two years.
"His parole expires in November. This means that he violated his parole conditions‚" Mabasa said.
The four accused were arrested in July after a heist in Dobsonville‚ Soweto. They were charged with armed robbery and possession of hijacked motor vehicles.
Mabasa also revealed that the vehicles used in the heist were hijacked, a white Ford Ranger had been stolen and a silver Volvo hijacked in Eden Park.
"A day after the heist‚ police went to an address in Dobsonville where the two cars were found. The house where the cars were parked had high walls and a closed steel gate," Mabasa said.
"Zondi and Present had allegedly gone to the house seeking parking space and were told that the gate would be unlocked."
He said the owner of the house indicated that the Ford Ranger was driven by Zondi and inside it were two black males who are known to the owner of the house. There was a second vehicle‚ a silver Volvo‚ which was driven by Present and he was accompanied by Biyela and Manama.
"We have a strong case against the accused. The vehicles that were recovered were involved in the crime scene. The two vehicles were followed by a van. They opened the boot of the van and there was some activity going but the owner of the house could not see what it was they were doing‚" Mabasa said.
He said the accused had left the house‚ except for Present‚ who told the owner that he had wanted to ask for food at another house where there was a funeral.
"The police found empty cartridges at the crime scene and 12 cartridges of a 9mm pistol and seven of an AK47 assault rifle‚" Mabasa said.
Mabasa told the court that the accused did not have fixed addresses and could evade trial if they were released on bail‚ except for Present. He also warned that should the men be released on bail‚ they could interfere with witnesses known to them.