A dekuhle Ganiyu Adefila, a Nigerian doctor appearing on charges of fraud was granted bail of R5 000 in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) swooped down and apprehended the 44-year-old doctor who is based at Rethabile Clinic on Tuesday.
Hawks Spokesperson Matimba Maluleke said the unit had received information and followed up leads about the doctor, who, since last July, allegedly regularly bought morphine from a private pharmacy, forged another doctor’s signature and used a prescription pad with the Department of Health’s letterhead for purchasing the drug.
“It is not clear yet what he used the morphine for,” Maluleke said.
A follow-up visit by the Hawks to his home shortly after his arrest yielded a stockpile of various medicines, including 35 plastic containers filled with anti retro-viral drugs, morphine, needles and injections, saline drips, a hospital stamp from a hospital in Nigeria, another Gauteng-based doctor’s official stamp, a block of yet another doctor’s sick leave forms, patient reports and prescriptions with the departmental letterhead and another doctor’s name and stamp on.
Adefila is to appear in court again on 2 September. The investigation continues.
Story and photos: NELIE ERASMUS
>>nelie.observer@gmail.com
Featured photo: The Nigerian doctor apprehended by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) on Tuesday.
