Louca succumbs to cancer

12 May 2015 - 02:09 By Graeme Hosken

George Louca - the man who state prosecutors were using to link Czech fugitive Radovan Krejir to the murder of Teazers strip club kingpin Lolly Jackson - has died. Louca, who had lung cancer, died at Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru II Prison's hospital section last night.He had been confined to the prison after an unsuccessful bid by the Department of Correctional Services to have him released on compassionate grounds because of his terminal illness.The Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court turned down the department's application last month.Louca, in a series of affidavits, told the court that Krejcir allegedly shot Jackson several times in 2010 in what was apparently an altercation over a money-laundering scheme gone wrong.He was to have been a key witness in one of a string of cases against the high-profile Czech fugitive. Louca was extradited to South Africa in 2012 after he fled to his home country, Cyprus, days after Jackson was killed.At the time he was charged with Jackson's murder and spent nearly two years fighting South African prosecutors' attempts to have him extradited.Louca's lawyer, Owen Blumberg, was unavailable for comment. Correctional Services Department spokesman Manelisa Wolela confirmed that Louca had died just after 8pm last night."Details of the death will be released later today after consultation with all the key players," he said.Sean Newman, former Teazers spokesman, said: "At the end of the day you now sit with a case where police always believed it was George and were not willing to look left or right at anyone else."We will now never know who killed Lolly as the case is dead with George. Tonight is really the end of a tragic event."..

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