Hawks and SAPS officials are keeping silent on the latest developments in the murders of Bedfordview residents Bassam Boutrous Issa and Veselin Laganin, saying only that investigations are on-going and that no arrests have been made.
Mr Issa, a Lebanese national, was murdered on Bradford and Smith roads in Bedfordview on Saturday, October 12.
Mr Laganin, a Serbian national, was murdered in his apartment at the Wedgewood Green complex on Smith Street, Bedfordview, on November 2.
The Gauteng SAPS communications officer, Brigadier Neville Malila said, “In the cases of Mr Issa and Mr Laganini, we are not privileged to say much.
“The investigations are still on-going, with the help of members from the national office. The case of Mr Laganin is being investigated as a house robbery because, at this stage, there is no information that indicates it was a hit. We also cannot confirm that these murders relate to other murders in the criminal underworld.”
Hawks spokesperson, Captain Paul Ramaloko said, “There are new developments regarding the murders of Mr Issa, Mr Laganini and Mr Lolly Jackson, but we are not at liberty to discuss them.
“What we can say is that the investigations are still underway and that arrests are yet to be made. We are still putting information together to get to the bottom of the murders.”
“The investigation is sensitive and we cannot talk about these matters until the perpetrators are brought to book. The whole underworld crime investigation is being attended to by seasoned investigators and we are happy about the pace at which the case is developing to get to the bottom of these incidences. Once these individuals are in custody, we will inform the public,” said Capt Ramaloko.
Mike Bolhuis
Safety and Security South Africa’s specialist investigator, Mr Mike Bolhuis, is part of a team investigating the death of Mr Issa.
“Mr Issa has since been living illegally in the country under false documentation. When he came to South Africa, Mr Issa was involved in the underworld as well as drug trafficking,” said Mr Bolhuis.
“I believe Mr Issa was owed money by criminals in Johannesburg. He needed that money to pay off a debt he owed drug dealers abroad. As a result, one of the two underworld groups killed him.”
Mr Bolhuis also questioned the robbery that took place, ending in the death of Mr Laganin.
“We have questions surrounding the murder of Mr Laganin. It could be a hit staged as a robbery because, once again, his name is linked to other people who are involved in organised crime. Mr Laganin appeared in court in February alongside Radovan Krecjir and my understanding is that the bail for Mr Krecjir and Mr Laganin’s court appearance was paid for by Mr Issa, who was shot three weeks before Mr Laganin,” said Mr Bolhuis.
Mr Laganin appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court in February, alongside Radovan Krecjir, on chargers of armed robbery with aggravating circumstances.
When asked for comment on the allegations made by Mr Bolhuis, Brig Malila and Capt Ramaloko both declined to comment.
