The lawyers of Czech fraud-accused Radovan Krejcir are suing Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa and police commissioner General Bheki Cele for more than R2-million in damages after a raid at his Bedfordview home.
“This is on behalf of Krejcir’s son Dennis (18) Czech visitor Miloslav Potiska, Krejcir’s employee Michael Arsiotis, and Arsiotis’s partner Tracey Swanepoel,” said lawyer Piet du Plessis.
The four, who were in the home at the time of the raid last Tuesday, claimed they were abducted, assaulted and harassed by officers, who were allegedly acting on the instruction of investigator Paul O’Sullivan.
“When the police penetrated the house, they [allegedly] tied Dennis with cables, took him away, threatened him and then later released him,” Du Plessis told the South African Press Association.
The others were also abducted and “unlawfully handled”, he said.
Swanepoel and Arsiotis claimed that no search warrant or warrant for arrest was shown to them.
Krejcir’s son was claiming R1-million in damages, Arsiotis and Potiska are each seeking R500 000, and Swanepoel R200 000.
During the raid, an alleged hit list was found with four names on it — state prosecutor Riegal du Toit, O’Sullivan, underworld boss Cyril Beeka, and doctor Marian Tupy.
Du Toit was involved in the murder investigation of Krejcir’s associate, Uwe Gemballa.
Gemballa was linked to former strip-club owner Lolly Jackson who was killed last year.
Before Jackson died, he and Krejcir allegedly held talks over a Gemballa franchise deal.
Gemballa (55) disappeared after arriving at OR Tambo airport in February last year.
His body was found in a shallow grave in Pretoria in October.
On Tuesday, Garlond Holworthy (32) Thabo Mohapi (36) and Kagiso Linken (29) are due to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court charged with kidnapping and murdering Gemballa.
Last year, Thabiso Melvin Mpye (29) was convicted and sentenced in a plea agreement to the high court in Johannesburg for his involvement in the Gemballa murder.
He pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing the businessman shortly after arriving in Johannesburg.
Beeka, meanwhile, was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Cape Town last Monday.
Krejcir was charged with fraud, but he was also being questioned about Beeka’s murder.
Tupy, a urologist, made a deal with the State to testify against Krejcir.
He pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and admitted to falsifying medical records to show that Krejcir suffered from cancer.
He received a suspended sentence in return for turning state witness.
It is alleged that Krejcir intended using the cancer diagnosis to avoid being extradited back to the Czech Republic where he is a wanted man. – Sapa