Hookah man gone in puff of smoke

A MAN who accused a local hubbly-bubbly tobacco tycoon of kidnapping and assault in an underground bunker has fled South Africa.

Egyptian national Mohamed Ahmed claimed that Alaa Sabra, an Egyptian immigrant with South African citizenship, and two other men, roughed him up in Cape Town last year after he started a rival tobacco importing business.

Now, Ahmed instead faces charges and has allegedly skipped the country with a warrant for his arrest being issued.

Sabra's company, Nakhla Tobacco, imports millions of rands' worth of molasses tobacco from Egypt and has offices in Johannesburg, Durban, East London, Cape Town, Mauritius and Mozambique.

"I've said from the beginning that this man is telling lies. I'm the real victim. He broke into my office and stole R150 000 and a cellphone from a drawer," said Sabra.

Police said kidnapping and assault charges had been provisionally withdrawn against Sabra. Spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk said a warrant of arrest was issued for Ahmed after he failed to appear in court to face charges of housebreaking and theft over the missing cash and phone.

The case docket is under consideration by the director of public prosecutions.

"We found out he skipped the country when he did not appear in court," said Sabra.

"I'm very upset because when he was given bail he had to hand in all his travel documents, including his passport, to the investigating officer. Then we discovered that he had handed in his expired passport, instead of the valid one. The policeman did not check the date on the passport."

Sabra said that police had investigated Ahmed's claim that he had been held in an underground bunker. "They realised that he was talking nonsense when security company records showed that the premises where the alleged incident took place was never accessed during this period.

"This man has done much damage to my business which I have worked so hard to build. I started with one box of tobacco, now I employ more than 80 people," Sabra said.