The great survivor

A team of elite police officers is investigating Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir and his alleged links to a spate of criminal underworld activities.

A team from the Hawks has been assigned to answer a specific question: Why does Krejcir's name crop up every time there are bodies in Bedfordview?

The team was set up several months ago, but operations have intensified in the last six weeks.

In the latest incident, on Tuesday, Krejcir's Money Point gold dealership in Bedfordview, east of Johannesburg, was bombed. Two of his close associates were killed and five staff members were injured, three of them critically.

The dead are believed to be Serbian fugitive Jan "John" Charvan and Ronnie "Vuma" Smith, a South African.

Krejcir, seen yesterday with an associate at the Life Bedfordview Gardens Hospital, where the injured are recovering, declined to comment.

"I don't speak to the media," said the relaxed businessman.

Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko confirmed that "seasoned" detectives were investigating a series of killings, attempted murders, a case of burglary in which jewellery worth millions of rands was stolen from Krejcir's Money Point in July, and a house robbery.

All of the incidents had occurred in Bedfordview in the past six weeks and the team had separated cases where Krejcir was the complainant and those where he was not.

A week ago, Krejcir associate Veselin Laganin was shot dead in his Bedfordview home during a suspected robbery. This followed the murder of a businessman also linked to Krejcir, Bassam Issa, who was shot 33 times near Laganin's home.

Said Ramaloko: "At this stage we do not know why every time something happens people look at Krejcir, but we are looking at this." He declined to elaborate.

In the past few years at least 10 people associated with Krejcir, including Teazers strip club owner Lolly Jackson, Cape underworld figure Cyril Beeka and German sports car tuner Uwe Gemballa, have been murdered.

Krejcir has repeatedly denied any links to the killings.

Of Tuesday's bombing, Ramaloko said: "They [detectives] have a task . it is specialised . they are looking at this blast. Members of the team are interviewing witnesses, the injured and those who can provide us with insight into this and other cases.''

Ramaloko said police policy did not allow him to talk about individuals before charges had been brought against them, but: "We are approaching the underworld issue with an open mind . are depending on intelligence, which will guide the direction our investigation takes. We will not be subjected to speculation."

Gauteng police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said forensic investigators were still scouring the scene of the blast for clues. The motive for the bombing and suspects were unknown.

"We have interviewed Krejcir."

But as police bomb technicians studied the scene yesterday, trying to identify the type of explosive used, enraged families and friends were demanding answers.

"No one knows what is going on. People are very scared," said a friend of Smith.

The man, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned of the dangers facing families of those linked to Krejcir.

"This is not trivial. Speaking publicly is to sign your death warrant. South Africa has no idea how bad these people are . The country has never seen anything like this.

"Those killed had business transactions together, were in close relationships and had one common denominator linking them."

The man said Smith had worked for Krejcir for nearly two years and "got himself into a situation he could not get out of".

"He was deep in the organisation . he knew too much on what was going on . there was no way he could simply 'leave' . once you are in something like this you never get out. The people who run these organisations are powerful . with lots of people on their payroll."

He said there was a lot of anger over Smith's death.

"There are many questions, especially as to why Ronnie was really there . the last time his family heard from him he said he was going to a meeting with Krejcir. He never showed up but the bomb did . people want to know why."

Neil Fulle, owner of Bedfordview Remax One, on whose property Krejcir's Money Point is situated, said he was planning to have the property knocked down in October next year to redevelop it. Krejcir has been kept abreast of this.

Ekurhuleni DA community safety spokesman Michele Clarke said the Bedfordview community was terrified by the killings in their area. Her party would table a petition in parliament demanding the government repatriate Krejcir to the Czech Republic.

"The ruling party has an obligation to keep South African residents safe and currently Bedfordview residents are living in an underworld cloud of South Africa's very own 'Al Capone'," she said.

Krejcir has been fighting attempts to send him home, where he claims he faces political persecution and death. His extradition hearing is on December 9.

Clarke said the chair of the Bedfordview community policing forum, Marina Constas, had written to police commissioner Riah Phiyega last week to ask for feedback on Krejcir.

The Body Count

1.Private detective Kevin Trystman, shot dead December 2009;

2. Strip club owner Lolly Jackson shot and killed, May 2010;

3. German supercar conversion specialist Uwe Gemballa, murdered in February 2010;

4. Johannesburg businessman Chris Couremetis, gunned down in October 2010;

5. Cape Town underworld boss Cyril Beeka, gunned down in March 2011;

6. Jackson's family lawyer, Ian Jordaan, kidnapped and murdered in September 2011;

7. Mark Andrews, protégé of Jackson, shot execution-style in September 2011;

8. Sam Issa shot dead in Bedfordview in October this year;

9. Leon Davids, Sexy Boys gang hitman, shot dead in Cape Town, in October this year;

10. Veselin Langanin, a Serbian national, murdered in Bedfordview early this month.

Monday's bomb blast victims:

11. Jan "John" Charvat

12. Ronnie "Vuma" Smith