Arms dealer in intensive care

VEREENIGING arms dealer Alan Raves is in intensive care and is so seriously ill he can open his eyes for only two minutes at a time.

This emerged in the Western Cape High Court during a pretrial conference around the massive arms smuggling case in which he is caught up, alongside local businessman Irshaad Laher.

Only Laher was present in the dock.

Raves was admitted to a hospital in Vereeniging on October 3 and is in the intensive-care unit with multiple organ dysfunction.

His lawyer, Estelle Kilian, told Judge Nape Dolamo a doctor’s certificate indicated Raves would have to remain in hospital until the end of next month.

“He doesn’t open his eyes for longer than two minutes,” she said, adding that it was extremely difficult for her to consult with him that way.

The case therefore had to be postponed, she submitted.

State advocate Shareen Riley added that the State also needed more time to obtain transcripts of telephonic monitoring and authorisation from the National Director of Public Prosecutions for the racketeering charge against Laher.

A centralisation certificate, which allows the State to conduct a prosecution in Cape Town for certain allegations that stem from Vereeniging, had also not yet been received.

The case was postponed to February 10 for a further pretrial conference.

Laher and Raves face charges of corruption, money laundering, theft of firearms and ammunition, as well as the possession of prohibited firearms and racketeering.

It is alleged that former policeman Colonel Christiaan Prinsloo sold around 2 000 firearms meant for destruction to Laher, who then allegedly sold them to Western Cape gangs. Prinsloo, who was in control of the Gauteng armoury where police firearms were sent for destruction, is already serving an 18-year prison term, and is expected to testify at the trial.

fatima.schroeder@inl.co.za