Cellphone records and security camera footage combined to place a gang at the scene of two casino robberies in KwaZulu-Natal in recent months, the Durban Magistrate’s Court heard yesterday. Five members of the alleged gang – Malvin Ndlovu, Lumkani Dube, Bongani Lukhele, Philani Gumpu and Menzi Shabalala – were denied bail while a sixth, Thulani Hlatswayo, abandoned his bail application.
The men are charged with two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and two counts of attempted murder in connection with robberies at the Sibaya Casino, north of Durban, and the Black Rock Casino, Newcastle, in August and September this year.
In an affidavit opposing bail, the investigating officer, Captain Neville Eva, of the Durban organised crime unit, said a group of men carrying handguns and rifles robbed staff at the Sibaya Casino of R300 000 on August 11. The gang fired at a patron while fleeing.
The Black Rock Casino was robbed on September 12.
Both robberies were captured on security cameras and some of the perpetrators were clearly visible in the footage, said Eva. The men had not worn balaclavas or masks to hide their faces. Eva said cellphone records showed the men were at the casinos during the robberies and that one of the gang had turned State witness. He added that all the men had made confessions to the police.
Ndlovu is allegedly linked to nine robberies in Gauteng, and Dube to 12 robberies in the same province. Lukhele and Gumpu are linked to three robbery cases in that province. Eva said correspondence from the Home Affairs Department showed that the men were all Zimbabweans and that only Hlatswayo and Shabalala were in the country legally. The men all claimed in their affidavits in support of bail that they were severely assaulted by the police and forced to confess to the robberies, and that they had permanent homes in Gauteng.
Their attorney, Njabulo Ngcobo, said the men had not been charged with the Gauteng cases they were allegedly linked to. He said the men had asylum status in South Africa, but he only had Ndlovu’s papers to prove this. In their affidavits, Dube and Shabalala deny having previous convictions. However, they admitted in court yesterday that they had convictions for illegal possession of a firearm and perjury respectively.
State advocate Yuri Gangai said the men had failed to prove there were exceptional circumstances warranting their release on bail. “Ndlovu wants us to believe him, but he fails to provide this court with his address; where would we find him (if released on bail). Furthermore, the signature on his asylum paper differs from his signature on his affidavit. Dube and Shabalala also failed to provide proper addresses. Lukhele gave the police a false ID number and Gumpu tried to escape when he was arrested.” He said that the four men in the country illegally would be deported if released on bail.
Magistrate C Smith said there was a strong likelihood that the men would evade their trial and denied them bail. The case was adjourned to February 18.
Source: IoL
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