SA’s ‘underworld’ capital gets ahead in war on crime

Despite two recent mob hits, lawlessness is down in Bedfordview

THE annual crime statistics for Bedfordview, east of Johannesburg, have shown a steady decline over 10 years.

If these statistics — murders more than halved and burglaries down to record lows — alone can be used as the yardstick of whether a suburb is winning the war on crime, then something is working for this small community of about 14 000 people.

Yet there are perceptions that Bedfordview is fast becoming the “underworld” capital of South Africa. And embedded in the national psyche is that it is home to one of the most notorious mafiosos.

His name is Radovan Krejcir — the Czech fugitive whose name conjures up images of fast cars, even faster money and a man so sleek and cool he survived the country’s most bizarre assassination attempt.

“I think it’s absolutely unfair that we are being linked as the place where some unsavoury characters live. There is so much more to Bedfordview,” said local community policing forum chairwoman Marina Constas.

Census results show an affluent area where people earn good money, live in relative luxury and boast at least one car in each household.

But two high-profile murders in four weeks could ruin another positive year.

Whereas Bedfordview recorded three murders from April 2012 to March 2013, the killing in recent weeks of Sam Issa and Veselin Langanin, both associates of Krejcir, mean there are already two ticks in the murder box with another five months to go.

This week, Constas wrote a letter to national police commissioner General Riah Phiyega to demand information about the investigations into the Krejcirlinked murders.

“The people of Bedfordview require urgent answers as to who has actually taken control of the investigation . . . We are advised in a patronising manner that the investigation is with the Hawks. This explanation is not good enough,” she wrote.

The residents like to divide Bedfordview into two areas.

Lower Bedfordview is the area around the massive Eastgate shopping mall and “upper Bedfordview” is on the other side of the N3 highway.

The upper side is best known for what people call “Millionaires’ Drive” — Kloof Road, where Krejcir owns a palatial mansion with panoramic views of Johannesburg.

Estate agent Gerald Latre said houses in this area could sell for anything from R7million to an asking price of R30-million.

He said the average house price in Bedfordview was about R3-million — nearly 50% of its residents have some form of tertiary education and are qualified professionals.

It’s a bit absurd to think we should be worried about him

“We find that the type of buyer in Bedfordview is mostly self-made people with their own businesses. It’s also very continental with a lot of Italians, Greeks and Portuguese living here,” Latre said.

More than 66% of its residents are white, 24% are black and a little more than 8% are Indian or Asian. The area also boasts top private schools and popular shopping centres, and people can escape to a countryside-like atmosphere at Gillooly’s Farm.

“It’s a sought-after area because it’s close to the highways and Sandton and also very close to the airport,” Latre said.

A visitor to the Italian Club, who wanted to be named only as Franco, said he had been living in Bedfordview for close to 20 years.

“It’s a nice suburb and close to everything,” he said.

“The traffic has become worse over the years, but I’m very happy here. It’s nice and green, there are places to shop and I won’t want to live anywhere else.”

JohnWilson, who has lived in Bedfordview for 40 years, said he did not pay too much attention to Krejcir.

“I’ve been following the stories, but his mere presence in my suburb means nothing to me. It’s a bit absurd to think we should be worried about him.

“The place is big enough for all of us,” he said.

But crime statistics, no matter how positive, can be deceiving. A detective at the local police station said people did not see the bigger picture.

“Just because some gangsters live here and don’t actually carry out their crimes in the suburb where they live doesn’t mean we should ignore them,” he said. “The problem is that this is their base from where to execute their plans.”

Questions to the Hawks about any progress in its investigation into Krejcir’s possible links to some of the unsolved murders went unanswered.

On Friday, Krejcir would only say: “Sorry, I’m not talking to the media.”

Constas, however, believes the hype around Bedfordview’s most controversial resident will soon blow over.

“He is just a flash in the pan . . . What matters to our people is their own safety and wellbeing,” she said.