Two men accused of manufacturing the potentially lethal drug cat in a luxurious flat in Sea Point made a routine appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Jacobus Johannes Venter (43) and Jacques van Rensburg (36) were arrested in June last year after police swooped on the flat. They face charges of drug dealing and manufacturing the chemical methcathinone, an ingredient of cat.
According to the charge sheet, on the dealing charge they face a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail, plus an unlimited fine, if found guilty. On the manufacturing charge, the maximum penalty is 15 years’ imprisonment.
In August last year, magistrate Aziz Hamied fixed bail at R100 000 each, but later reduced it to R75 000.
In those proceedings, the pair had every confidence that they could raise the R75 000 — unaware that the Scorpions’ asset forfeiture unit had meanwhile stepped in and confiscated R900 000 and their luxury car.
At the time, prosecutor Carmen Daniels told the court that sums totalling R1,5-million had gone through Van Rensburg and Venter’s joint banking account, in a matter of eight months.
The men were finally able to raise the bail and the case was postponed to April 24 this year.
At Tuesday’s hearing, magistrate Alta le Roux warned the two to return to court on May 30, when the defence team, Ben Matthewson and Andre Johnson, is to be furnished with details of the charges. — Sapa