The department of justice is processing an extradition request for Lolly Jackson's alleged killer to be sent to South Africa to stand trial, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Saturday.
Spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said they had already started the extradition process before George Luca was arrested in Cyprus.
"We submitted our extradition application about a month ago even before he was arrested...it's now with the department of justice. We have opted for the European submission route because we don't have bilateral extradition treaty with Cyprus," he said.
"[Luca] will in all probability oppose our application and we will make submissions to the court he is appearing in," he said.
Apart from the 2010 murder of Jackson, the owner of the Teazers franchise of strip clubs, Luca is wanted for theft, possession of suspected stolen property and fraud, all in unrelated cases, said Mhaga.
Luca will appear in court in Cyprus on Tuesday. He had been on the run since 2010 and was now in the custody of Cypriot police, national police spokesman Lt-Col Vishnu Naidoo said.
Luca, also known as Luca Smith, allegedly phoned Gauteng crime intelligence boss Joey Mabasa and confessed to killing Jackson shortly after the murder.
Luca told the Sunday Times in a recent interview that he would "want to talk to the police in South Africa". "But I don't think I will get a fair trail," Luca was quoted as saying.
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