Glynnis Breytenbach docket nicked

24 March 2016 - 08:14 By GRAEME HOSKEN

Who would benefit from the theft of the criminal docket against Democratic Alliance MP Glynnis Breytenbach?This is the question police are asking after the docket was stolen from the back seat of the investigating officer's car on Friday while he stopped at his office at the Hawks' serious economic crimes unit for "five minutes".Breytenbach is being investigated by the unit for allegedly committing fraud while she was the head of the National Prosecuting Authority's specialised commercial crimes section.She is alleged to have destroyed evidence in several cases and tampered with her state laptop computer to prevent evidence from being recovered.On Sunday, burglars broke into the Helen Suzman Foundation and stole computers containing information related to the NPA' s case against acting Hawks head Major-General Berning Ntlemeza .Hawks spokesman Lieutenant Robert Netshiunda, said of the Breytenbach matter: "This specific docket, which is the original docket, was stolen from amongst a number of other dockets which were on the back seat."He denied this was the end of the case against Breytenbach, stating that a copy of the docket had been retrieved.He said police were following several leads."We are not at liberty to say what those leads are. What we can say is that eyebrows have been raised, especially as it was the only docket out of all of those in the policeman's possession to have been stolen," he said.Breytenbach yesterday scoffed at notions that she was somehow behind the theft."It, and the speculation around it, are mischievous. My lawyers have a copy which was given to us by the police. If they need a copy they can get one from us."Institute for Security Studies policing analyst Johan Burger said the timing of the incident was curious."It occurred days before the burglary at the Helen Suzman Foundation. Questions need to be asked as to who would benefit from it and how. Was the docket stolen for extortion, or are there other sinister reasons behind the theft?"Breytenbach has been involved in both internal and external high- profile investigations and, in the past, upset a lot of people. With the theft of just this docket, it's clear someone knew just to take that case file."Breytenbach and her co-accused, Gerhard Wagenaar, who is her lawyer, are due to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on April 8...

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