STATE GRABS ASSETS BOUGHT WITH STOLEN E900 000

MBABANE- Did you accrue your assets through money obtained from dagga dealing?

If so, look over your shoulder as the State has unleashed, the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA), 2018.
The Crown yesterday obtained an order to preserve assets that were allegedly procured through a sum of E900 000 that the money was stolen from an alleged dagga dealer.

According to the State, the owner of the E900 000, Mfanaleni Dlamini, indicated that it was proceeds of dagga dealing.
The assets which the State had seized include among others; a Toyota Quantum, Navy blue Nissan Sunny, E40 700 kept at the Central Bank of Eswatini, Samsung Galaxy S9 phone, white and grey Samsung Galaxy phone, three- piece Empress bedroom suite, four – piece Trojan lounge suite, Casablanca maxi chest drawer, 45 bags of cement, door frame, wheelbarrow, brick force, orange Mac Africa Chainsaw, Carious Cement bricks, three 5 000-litre water tanks and corrugated iron sheets.

Procured

These items were reportedly procured by the people who stole the money from Dlamini.
The order was issued by Judge Mumcy Dlamini.

The order by the court comes after the Crown moved an ex parte application (application made without informing the other party).
The application by the Crown was  moved in terms of Section 50 (1) of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA) to ensure that the property is preserved pending the outcome of the process for a forfeiture order in terms of the Act.

In motivating the application, Principal Crown Counsel Elsie Matsebula submitted that the properties were proceeds of unlawful activity of scheduled offences under the POCA.

Matsebula, who is the Head of the Asset Forfeiture Unit in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), averred that in terms of Section 42 (2) of the POCA, the High Court must make the preservation order if it was satisfied that the information provided on affidavit showed on the face of it that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the property was an instrumentality of an offence or the proceeds of unlawful activities.

She informed the court that the properties were purchased through monies estimated to be E900 000.  According to the principal Crown counsel, the money was stolen from  Mfanaleni of Mzanceni by Mandla Sihle Twelve Hlophe, who was acting in concert with his friends on or about September 14, 2018.
She said Hlophe was facing criminal charges of house breaking with intent to steal and money laundering.

“Investigations have revealed that the monies were the proceeds of unlawful dealing in dagga by the said Mfanaleni Dlamini and had kept it in his house at Mzaceni area since 2015,” submitted Matsebula.
She pointed out that such monies were all in South African notes, ranging from R10 to R200 notes and was wrapped in sellotape and placed in a white sack
Matsebula informed the court that police investigations into the alleged theft of the E900 000 led them to Hlophe of Mkhaya (Mhlabatsini), Siphofaneni in the Lubombo Region.
Dissipating
“Evidence sourced, revealed that the suspect was in possession of the white sack full of the money and had already started dissipating it willy-nilly through various purchases of motor vehicles, furniture, building material and personal clothing,” alleged the principal Crown Counsel.
She told the court that the suspect had already given huge sums of monies to other individuals as gifts or token of appreciation for assisting him in committing the crime of theft.
Matsebula disclosed that such beneficiaries include, but not limited to, his wife one Ncobile Dlamini.
She alleged that the monies mentioned in the application were the remainder of the E900 000 cash stolen by Hlophe at Mzaceni.
“Investigations revealed that when the police enquired from Hlophe about the source of such an amount, he advised the investigating team that the money was the proceeds of his dagga dealing in South Africa,” alleged the Crown.
According to Matsebula, pursuant to these findings, the investigating team recorded a statement and opened an enquiry file and took with them the R40 700 as part of the evidence.
She further brought it to the attention of the court that, Hlophe has made an application at the Manzini Magistrates Court for the release of the R40 700 on the grounds that it did not form part of his criminal matter.
Matsebula alleged that, through affidavits deposed to by various individuals; Hlophe allegedly argued that the R40 700 was money given to him by the said deponents as gifts towards paying lobola for his wife.
The Crown argued that, the above argument by Hlophe was in stark contrast with what he had told the investigating team on the day he was found with the money.
The money is currently kept by the Central Bank of Eswatini.
Appearing for the Crown in the matter was Thulani Mamba from the chamber of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

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