Perly kingpin’s son describes toxic childhood

Morne jnr not likely to return to crime, says lawyer

With his father behind bars, the son of convicted racketeering head Morne Blignault was finally free from the grip of crime he was introduced to as a young teen growing up in a toxic home.

Morne Blignault jnr’s counsel told the Port Elizabeth High Court on Wednesday that with both his parents behind bars, it was unlikely he would commit another offence or dabble in the perlemoen trade.

In fact, the veil of control over Morne jnr’s life had been lifted.

While Blignault may have done everything in his power this week to try to persuade a judge to show leniency towards his son, the sentiment was not returned by Morne jnr, who turned the tables on his dad with claims that he had grown up in a toxic home marred by conflict, domestic violence and substance abuse – eerily similar to Blignault’s own childhood and the one he had promised to shield his children from. Defence advocate Hannelie Bakker said Morne jnr, 27, was first exposed to his father’s illegal perlemoen business when he was just 14.

Bakker told the court that after an episode of violence, Blignault, 47, would then shower Morne jnr and his two sisters with gifts that they could not refuse and do everything in his power to make his family comfortable materially.

As a teenager, Morne jnr drove himself to school in a sports car.

But with Blignault and his ex-wife, Marshelle, since sentenced to lengthy terms of imprisonment, and the Asset Forfeiture Unit gunning for every remaining asset, including the family home, the siblings were likely to end up on the street.

Bakker told judge Glenn Goosen that after Blignault’s arrest in the first perlemoen case, Morne jnr found himself struggling to support his fiancee and young child.

“It was therefore very tempting when he was asked by his father to drive the lookout vehicle,” Bakker said.

Morne jnr was arrested in April 2017 after the convoy he was travelling in was stopped outside Paterson and a search of a truck revealed 6,013 units of perlemoen later linked to the Blignault enterprise.

Bakker refuted Blignault’s testimony that his son had possibly not even been aware of the contents of the truck.

She said Morne jnr had in fact driven the “lookout” vehicle that day because he desperately needed the R25,000 payment for the job.

The father and son, as well as Japie Naumann, 35, and Paul Bezuidenhout, 22, will be sentenced on charges of racketeering and contravening the Marine Living Resources Act on May 2.

Co-accused Jan “Danie” Prinsloo, 31, is still on the run.

Bakker argued in mitigation of sentence that Morne jnr’s moral blameworthiness was far less than that of his father.

She said he was a good candidate for rehabilitation.

“The exposure to the perlemoen business has been removed. He is not likely to

‘The exposure to the perlemoen business has been removed’ Hannelie Bakker DEFENCE ADVOCATE

reoffend now that both his mother and father have been incarcerated.”

Morne jnr had been working at Welfit Oddy for more than a year now and was recently promoted due to his hard work.

“His arrest served as a huge wake-up call.”

Blignault was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a similar case in September, while Marshelle was sentenced to an effective 12 years for her role.

State advocate Martin le Roux said in organised crime syndicates, the head of the syndicate never went near the crime scene.

Le Roux said it was not about the value of the perlemoen involved – this was not a fraud or theft case – but that organised crime ultimately had the ability to bring a country to a standstill.

He said Blignault had an elevated status in local circles. He was a broker of sorts.

“He doesn’t dirty his hands, so to speak.

“He just sells the perlemoen off to an international cartel.”

Le Roux said he accepted the fact that Morne jnr was in the business because of his father, but it could not be argued that he was free of moral blameworthiness.

“He was a 19-year-old boy owning a property worth more than R1m and driving to school in a sports car.

“These are choices he made,” he said.

On the other end of the spectrum, there was Bezuidenhout, merely a foot soldier in the enterprise. Bezuidenhout’s counsel, advocate Johan van der Spuy, said he had been at the very bottom of the ladder – just a common labourer who was likely paid a pittance to offload bags of perlemoen.

While the Blignaults have lived in the lap of luxury, Bezuidenhout has been living in a Wendy House in Algoa Park.

But Le Roux said that while his participation was considerably less than his co-accused, the empire would have folded without him.

He said there was a public misconception that people such as Blignault and Julian Brown – serving 18 years for heading up his own racketeering ring – had been punished too harshly for perlemoen poaching, but perlemoen was just the predicate offence, or the building blocks of the enterprise, Le Roux said.

It was the charge of racketeering that carried the hefty punishment.

Le Roux said the only fitting sentence for all the accused was one of imprisonment.

‘He was a 19-year-old boy owning a property worth more than R1m’ Martin le Roux

STATE ADVOCATE