/ 12 April 2011

Suspect detained in Gemballa case

Suspect Detained In Gemballa Case

A man was detained in connection with the murder of Uwe Gemballa in Johannesburg on Monday night, the Hawks said.

Gemballa was the owner and founder of Gemballa Sports Cars, which did tune-ups and luxury conversions on Porches and Ferraris. He disappeared after being met by an unidentified man on February 8 this year at OR Tambo International Airport.

The man arrested on Monday night is suspected of hiring the hit men that killed Gemballa.

He was taken into custody just after 8pm in Douglasdale and was being taken in for questioning, spokesperson McIntosh Polela said.

He could not provide any further details.

The three men linked to Gemballa’s murder last appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on April 5 where the case was postponed to June 8. Garlond Holworthy (32) Thabo Mohapi (36) and Kagiso Linken (29) would remain in custody until their next court appearance.

The three are charged with kidnapping and murdering Gemballa, an associate of Czech businessman Radovan Krejcir.

Krejcir was arrested last week on a fraud charge relating to a R4,5-million insurance claim. He handed himself to police on March 25.

Thabiso Melvin Mpye (29) was earlier convicted and sentenced in a plea agreement in the High Court in Johannesburg for his involvement in the Gemballa murder. He pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing Gemballa (55) shortly after the German arrived in South Africa in February last year.
Gemballa’s body was found in a shallow grave in Pretoria in October last year.