Stefanos Paparas, 45, his 74-year-old father Dimitri and their driver, Stanley Poonin were yesterday acquitted of drug dealing in a surprise judgment in the Germiston magistrate's court by Magistrate Deon Snyman.

Snyman said the three main witnesses, Glenn Agliotti, Clinton Nassif and Robert Lottman, received such good deals from the anti-corruption unit that they had every reason to lie about the case.

Lottman was arrested with Pedro Marques, Christiaan Alblas, Dimitri Paparas and Poonin in a raid of a warehouse in 2006 where R250million worth of hashish was allegedly found.

Stefanos Paparas later handed himself over to the police.

Lottman, Marques and Alblas all made plea bargains with the Scorpions, to put pressure on Agliotti, known as the "Landlord" and the key player in the syndicate.

Agliotti's evidence was used to implicate and prosecute Selebi.

Agliotti agreed to turn state witness against Selebi in exchange for a lenient sentence on the drug trafficking charges and was also acquitted in November last year of any involvement in the murder of slain mining magnate Brett Kebble.

At the time Judge Frans Kgomo said: "Everyone who testified for the state did not implicate the accused (Agliotti) in any wrongdoing, not even the shooters in the matter".

Agliotti's co-accused in that matter, who included Mickey Schultz, Nigel McGurk and Faizel Smith, who shot Kebble, received indemnity from prosecution, after testifying against Agliotti.

Advocate Sita Kolbe, who represented Paparas, said yesterday the judgment was a surprise, as the case was not set for judgment.

She said the magistrate was scathing on the Scorpions for bungling the investigation.

"He (the magistrate) said the witnesses all had reason to lie as they got such wonderful deals from the state," Kolbe said.

The magistrate also found no official record of the chain of custody of the hashish used by the Scorpion's mole to trap Lottman in a trade on 5 July 2006.

The NPA's spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga yesterday said "naturally, as prosecutors, we are disappointed with any acquittal, we'll study the judgment, reflect on all issues raised by the magistrate during judgment and decide on the legal avenue to explore".

He said the NPA would only then decide whether to appeal.

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Sun May 19 08:04:52 SAST 2013 ::

Apr 6, 2011

Ace100

Maffias are ruling this country and our children won't have future!
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Apr 6, 2011

tank

Finaly now the true comes out. i personally think that the Mzansi media is useless when it comes to writting the true.
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Apr 6, 2011

ThirdEye

this plea bargain with criminals, really NPA is nt helping our country to fight crime.
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Apr 6, 2011

snazz

It is really surprising that no one will go to jail for the R250 million worth of HASHISH even thou suspects were arrested this is what i call fu.cked up justice system
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Apr 6, 2011

gigolo

snazzy one hello,


I see this is pissing you off since yesterday, how can they arrest people when ORTambo international airport is on the land owned by thugs, renting land to a foreign thug. SA seems to be bargaining with criminals and they get nothing out of it so much for high profile policing sies.
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Apr 6, 2011

Voiceoftheforgotten

Well our precious country regards political agenda more important than the safety and welfare of the citizens of this country. As far as the government is concerned the families and young people whose lives are destroyed by drugs is not important enough. They had to teach Selebi a lesson and to hell with everybody else!
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Apr 6, 2011

Poloitsile

I think we're going the same route as Mexico ,where criminals like this(Mafias) are governing.Mafias are walking free on our streets & no one cares,SA is going nowhere,ek se!!
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Apr 6, 2011

Mutoma

Thats the thing, having thousands of policeman doesnt bring down the rate of crime, having a good justice system does. Now people who have been found with drugs worht R250 million are free to raom in the streets. What a pathetic justice suystem.
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Apr 6, 2011

CheeseBoy

we complain about crime in SA when the mafia (the real criminals)are playing a circus right before our eyes.
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Apr 6, 2011

4biko

This goverment is destroying the countory. If we continue to be under the leadership greedy, self serving individuals - we are surely heading for disaster. Soon we will be running to other African countories - luck for those who have formidable qualifications - they can move to Australia, Canada, and NZ.
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