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Mark Lifman being arrested in February 2018 (supplied)
- See Cele has welcomed the arrest of three alleged underworld figures, saying it is “only the beginning”.
- The three men appeared before the Cape Town Magistrates Court.
- Cele says police are investigating allegations of extortion, drug trafficking, fraud, corruption and money laundering involving the underworld of Cape Town.
Police Minister General Bheki Cele has welcomed the arrest of three suspected underworld figures who are allegedly linked to ongoing “extortion” involving companies in Cape Town.
Mark Lifman, Jerome Booysen and William Steven appeared in Cape Town Magistrates Court Tuesday on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering.
It is alleged that they were involved in the murder of the so-called Steroid King, Brian Wainstein, three years ago.
READ | Underworld ‘lords’ charged with the murder of an international steroid smuggler received bail of R 100,000
“This is just the beginning of our efforts as police to strengthen control over these crimes committed by the underworld and to execute extortion scams that undermine the state and threaten the livelihoods of local economies,” said Cele.
The three surrendered to their nearest police stations Tuesday morning after the Hawks’ Serious Organized Crime Unit obtained arrest warrants.
Cele said it was one of the phases of the ongoing investigation into extortion, drug trafficking, fraud, corruption and money laundering activities involving the Cape Town underworld.
On Tuesday, the court heard that Lifman paid Booysen who, in turn, paid Steven for the hit on the international steroid smuggler who was killed at his Constantia home in 2017.
They were granted bail of R 100,000 each, with conditions including that they report to the nearest police stations every Monday from 08:00 to 18:00.
His case was postponed until February 9 for further investigation.
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