State’s case is ‘blank’

THE DEFENCE in one of South Africa’s biggest diamond trials, yesterday argued that the State’s case had collapsed, where visual and sound recordings that were supposed to link 13 prominent personalities in the diamond industry to illicit diamond deals, are blank.

Senior advocate Max Hades, who is representing Monojkumar Dayabhai Detroja and Willem Weenink yesterday described the investigation as being a “miserable failure”.

Hades, in the Northern Cape High Court, yesterday highlighted how members of the investigation team involved in Project Darling, the undercover operation that resulted in the arrests of the accused, deliberately failed to check the video footage and sound recordings, as it did not support the State’s case.

“The recording machine and video clippings pertaining to some of the charges are completely blank. The whole case has failed. They must have looked at the recordings and discovered that it could not prove anything.”

He accused the manager of Project Darling, Colonel De Witt Botha, from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) in Upington, of being “scared of destroying the whole operation” because the recordings were not checked.

“Botha was in charge and made a mess,” Hades told the court, adding that Botha should have been familiar with the finer details of the operation, including where the transactions were taking place and who the diamonds would be offered to.

Senior advocate Terry Price, who is representing Ashley Brooks, Patrick Mason, Antonella Florio-Poone, Kevin Urry and Trevor Pikwane, pointed out that without visual evidence, the State had no case.

He added that using 53 diamonds to lure the accused into a trap was an unusually large number of diamonds.

“Mostly not more than six diamonds are used during a transaction while the amount of R2 million that changed hands is also an unusual sum of cash.”

He pointed out that the permit that was presented to the accused when the diamonds were sold was “misleading and dishonest”.

“The whole purpose of entrapment is that the person who is buying the goods must know that it is illegal.”

De Witt Botha also admitted that he was given an Apple iPad and iPhone by “intelligence officer” Marius Korff.

He explained that he had not declared these gifts although they were not classified as “police goods”.

“This was my first entrapment project.”

He added that a decision was taken, with the approval of the former SAPS assistant commissioner, Major-General Liziwe Ntshinga, to pay undercover agent Linton Jephta a monthly salary.

“This was to reimburse him for his expenses as well as for services rendered.”

Botha stated that Jephta was placed in witness protection as he felt that his identity as an undercover agent had been exposed and because he did not “feel safe” in his own home.

He indicated that while he was aware of the R1 million that was paid to Jephta, in terms of an agreement, he did not have any knowledge of a further R4 million that Jephta claimed was owed to him.

Botha said that he had instructed a Warrant Officer Potgieter to ensure that all transactions with the accused were recorded.

“I gave instructions to start the operation by creating an opportunity to commit the crime. Potgieter would inform me of the minimum value of the sale of the diamonds and he would immediately return to the investigating officer and activate the technical equipment.”

He acknowledged that he had not checked the video and sound recordings but denied that it was in any way deliberate.

“I trusted that everything was in place. It is not normal practice to follow an agent to a transaction. It could place the life of the agent in jeopardy if his identity, as an undercover agent, is revealed.”

Botha explained that while he was at the Royal Court guesthouse at the time the goods and technical equipment was handed over to Jephta, Warrant Officer Potgieter was the one who had given the instructions.

“I had my own room at the guesthouse. I was not present when Potgieter gave instructions to Jeptha regarding the address where the transaction would take place and when the minimum selling price for the diamonds was established. I was outside smoking and I was informed afterwards that everything was in order.”

He added that he was physically present during three of the nine transactions that took place.

“During the other transactions I was telephonically informed by Potgieter and I gave him the authorisation to continue. In some of the cases I was informed when the transactions had been completed.”

The defence requested the court to instruct the state to make missing documents and pages from the indictment available to them.

They argued that the State could not sanitise the evidence nor provide them with selective pages while vital information might be missing.

State advocate Johan Roothman indicated that an incomplete set of documents was handed over to the defence.

“During a previous court ruling, I was advised that, unless the State was instructed by the court, it was not obliged to provide the defence with the missing pages.”

He explained that names of further targets contained in these pages could not be disclosed.

The case continues before Northern Cape High Court Judge Bulelwa Pakati.