Louca: Krejcir screamed "you f**king cockroach" then killed Lolly

05 April 2015 - 02:00 By MZILIKAZI WA AFRIKA, STEPHAN HOFSTATTER and PIET RAMPEDI
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The man who stands accused of killing Teazers boss Lolly Jackson in 2010 claims controversial Czech businessman Radovan Krejcir shot the strip-club king in cold blood during a fight over money.

In five explosive affidavits seen by the Sunday Times, George Louca - who also uses the alias George Smith - claims Krejcir shot Jackson after a dispute over R740 000 on May 3 2010.

He claims Krejcir kicked Jackson after the first shot and screamed: "You want to know who I am, I will show you who I am, you f**king cockroach." He says Jackson begged for his life but Krejcir pumped several more shots into his body.

Louca, the prime suspect in the case, was extradited to South Africa from Cyprus to stand trial for the murder. He appeared in court on charges of murder and possession of stolen property in February 2014. The case was postponed this year after it was revealed that he is dying of lung cancer and is being treated in a secret prison hospital.

In one of the affidavits, swearing an oath under the name George Smith, Louca claims that Krejcir was helping Jackson to launder money offshore as the Teazers boss was planning to leave South Africa for Greece to avoid money-laundering charges.

Louca says he and Jackson had "a good relationship and trusted one another" after he had assisted the businessman to obtain "a legitimate Greek passport".

He claims the problem between the two men started after Jackson suspected Krejcir had swindled him out of the R740 000 and that he had been given a fake receipt for the transfer of the money.

sub_head_start Fatal Meeting sub_head_end

In his affidavit, Louca claims: "Jackson was angered by this development and in April 2010 requested that I set up a meeting with Krejcir. I arranged the meeting but neither Krejcir nor [his associate] Cyril Beeka, despite their commitment to attend, arrived for the meeting.

"I attempted once again to set up a meeting between Krejcir and Jackson. Krejcir refused to attend any meeting at Jackson's house or office. He insisted that the meeting be held at the house where I lived in Kempton Park.

"It was agreed that a meeting would be scheduled for the afternoon of May 3 2010. Having confirmed the arrangement with Jackson, he and I agreed to meet on the Modderfontein Road running in front of the Greenstone Shopping Centre. Jackson, driving his Jeep, arrived late afternoon and we set off, with Jackson following me. I was driving my Peugeot van.

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"Upon our arrival at my house, I invited Jackson into the living room and stepped behind the bar to offer him a beer. Krejcir arrived some five or six minutes later and was also offered a beer."

It was then that things took an ugly turn, Louca claims.

"Within moments Jackson had begun to shout at Krejcir and to wave the copy of the SWIFT transfer, which he said was a fake. Jackson swore at Krejcir, asking him 'who the f**k' he thought he was to steal his money.

"Krejcir lunged forward to grab the SWIFT transfer from Jackson, who held it out of reach. At this point Krejcir pulled out a firearm and shot Jackson once; Jackson fell onto the back of the sofa positioned directly behind him.

"Jackson looked shocked and began to plead and beg for his life. Krejcir crossed the floor towards him, standing over him, and kicked him in the side of the chest and said the following or words to the same effect:

block_quotes_start 'You want to know who I am, I will show you who I am you f**king cockroach.' block_quotes_end

"Krejcir then proceeded to fire many shots into Jackson. I don't remember how many times but there were several further shots. Jackson appeared to be dead and lay in a pool of blood.

"I was horrified and frightened.

"Krejcir ordered me to pick Jackson up and take him down the corridor towards the garage. He wanted me to put the body into Jackson's car. I attempted to do as he said but Jackson was quite heavy. My shirt was quickly covered in Jackson's blood. I said to Krejcir: 'I can't do that, I can't pick him up.' He asked me to go and get a blanket to carry the body.

"I ran to my bedroom, removed the bloody shirt and put on a clean one, taking a duvet off my bed, and returned to the lounge where I succeeded in placing Jackson's body onto the duvet and dragging the body down the passage towards the door that leads into the garage.

"I left Jackson's body in the passage just inside the door and stepped into the garage."

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Louca says he then realised that Krejcir had brought two of his associates to the meeting, including Beeka.

"I opened the automatic garage door on the left and noticed Cyril Beeka seated in a car just outside the garage on my right together with someone who I could not see clearly, save to say that he had short, light-coloured hair.

"At that moment I was in a state of shock and felt afraid for my life; I had just witnessed Lolly Jackson shot dead by Krejcir and wanted to get away as quickly as possible."

He decided to get hold of one of his police contacts.

"I got back into the car and drove away, exiting through the booms at the entrance to our suburb and then called General "Joey" Mabasa from my phone, telling him that I had just witnessed Krejcir killing Jackson and to ask him for help. He asked who was present at the time of Jackson's murder and I told him that Krejcir and Cyril were there.

"He asked me where I was. I told him that I was driving Jackson's Jeep. He suggested that I meet him at Bedford Centre and that I should speak to Krejcir as soon as possible.

"Mabasa knew of the problems between Krejcir and Jackson, having already been approached by Jackson to intervene and assist in facilitating a meeting with Krejcir. I too had spoken with Mabasa about the need for a meeting to be arranged between Krejcir and Jackson to resolve their problem.

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"I didn't drive immediately to Bedford Centre but drove around for a while. Radovan [Krejcir] was calling me on the phone. I didn't take his calls at first. Later I called him as advised by Mabasa. He asked me to meet him at an Engen garage near to Linksfield. We met there.

"He got there before me and I met him behind the garage. He wanted me to calm down but I was extremely angry with him for what he had just done and didn't want to listen to his stories. He asked me why I had driven off and left the house. He said that I was supposed to have helped him put the body in the car and then dump it.

"I drove off and headed for Harbour Café in order to meet Mabasa. Upon arrival I saw several people including Beeka. I asked him whether Mabasa was there. He answered that he had not seen Mabasa. I realised that I was alone and that Mabasa was not going to show up.

"Krejcir then arrived at the Harbour Café. He then turned to me and said we need to talk. We got to the parking lot and he told me that I should give him my cellphone and speak to no one.

"He then said that I should drive to Nicol Hotel in Bedfordview. I went to the second floor to room 26 as instructed by Krejcir where I found Krejcir's friend from the Czech Republic by the name of Martin.

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"Krejcir arrived at 10pm and told me that I had no choice but to leave the country. As he put it: Lolly was murdered in your house. You were there when it happened. You are f**ked and there is nothing you can do about it.

"He said I should leave as soon as possible for Cyprus which he said had no extradition treaty with South Africa. He undertook to send money to me in Cyprus."

Louca said a friend drove him across the border to Mozambique from where he travelled to Cyprus via Lisbon, Portugal.

Krejcir's lawyer Piet du Plessis this week told the Sunday Times that Louca's affidavits implicating his client were "rubbish".

"This is absolute rubbish. My client is a state witness on the matter. George is trying to exonerate himself and trying to get off the case. As far as I am aware he is the one accused of the murder of Lolly Jackson and not my client," Du Plessis said.

Krejcir is currently being held in Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria, and is due to go on trial for attempted murder, drug dealing and kidnapping with three co-accused.

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Krejcir remains in custody after his bail application was rejected three times by the Palm Ridge Regional Court and later the High Court in Johannesburg as he is deemed a flight risk.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mabasa, who was investigating Jackson for money-laundering, also accused Louca of being economical with the truth in his affidavits.

"This man phoned me out of the blue to say he had just killed Lolly Jackson, I didn't even know him from a bar of soap.

"At first I thought it was a prank as I never spoke to him in my life but when I realised that he was serious I advised him to hand himself over to the nearest police station," Mabasa said.

Mabasa said Louca's affidavits had to be taken with a pinch of salt.

"If George is innocent as he claims now, then he must tell us why did he run away and not Krejcir, and even exhausted all the legal avenues in avoiding to come to South Africa, if he really wanted to clear his name," said Mabasa.

Louca's lawyer, Owen Blumberg, confirmed to the Sunday Times that his client had submitted affidavits distancing himself from the murder of Jackson.

"My client is not pleading guilty to the murder of Lolly Jackson. He is a witness and not even an accomplice," Blumberg said.

Blumberg said at the moment his priority was the health of his client, who had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Louca was moved from a police cell where he had been in solitary confinement to an unnamed prison hospital.

"He doesn't have enough time and I would be happy if he could be sent back home and spend the last days with his family."

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