A drug dealer has been sentenced in the Western Cape High Court for smuggling drugs into South Africa. He is also expected to testify against his co-accused.
Alan Bushby, 52, from Midrand, has been given a 10-year direct imprisonment sentence for dealing in drugs that he helped bring into the country from international waters off Still Bay.
Bushby was convicted of dealing in drugs, namely 400.84kg of cocaine.
He entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State.
He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, five of which were suspended for five years on the condition that he is not convicted of the same offence.
Bushby will be testifying against his co-accused,
Bushby will testify against his co-accused, Renaldo Beukes, 35, from Hermanus, Dicky Johan Benzien, 50, from Hermanus, Mathew Fourie, 23, from Durban, Jordan Cullingworth, 29, from Fourways, and Serbian nationals Nemanja Vuckovic, 31, from Amanzimtoti, Marko Ninc, 41, and Josip Ivanovic, 39, from Sandton.
The group faces charges of murder and dealing in drugs. Vuckovic, Ninc, and Ivanovic are also charged with contravening Section 49(1), read with Sections 1 and 48, of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 for allegedly being in the country illegally.
In terms of the plea agreement, Bushby stated that Mathew Smith approached him in July 2024 and asked whether he was interested in making quick money by helping to recover cocaine from the sea. He was informed that a passing ship would drop a shipment of cocaine into international waters off the coast of Still Bay and that he would assist in retrieving the parcels and bringing them safely ashore. He was told that the cocaine shipment weighed approximately 100 kilograms.
According to Bushby, he agreed to participate because he needed money to start a new business venture in Namibia called Desert Adventures. Although he was not told how much he would be paid, he was given the impression that the payment would be substantial. He was instructed to board a rubber duck at 5am on July 18, 2024, with a group of people waiting for him at the Still Bay Harbour.
Bushby explained he travelled to South Africa with his Namibian girlfriend, whom he met while pursuing business opportunities in the tourism industry in Namibia. She was unaware of his involvement in the drug recovery operation. Bushby told her that they would be visiting South Africa as tourists because she wanted to see the Western Cape.
According to Bushby, he informed his girlfriend he’d be going on a fishing trip on July 18, 2024, and would return the following day. He asked her to drop him off at the harbour that morning. The court heard Bushby also told the girlfriend that she and Smith, whom he described as an old friend needing a lift to Cape Town, could explore nearby areas while he was away. Bushby arranged for her to collect him from the harbour on July 19, 2024, after which they would spend the night in Still Bay and travel to Cape Town the next day to drop off Smith.
On July 18, 2024, Bushby’s girlfriend and Smith dropped him off at the harbour, where he met Ninc, Ivanovic, Beukes, and others whose identities he could not recall with certainty.
The court heard that Beukes and Benzien were introduced as the skippers, while Ivanovic, who appeared to be in charge, remained close to Ninc. Ivanovic provided Beukes with a satellite phone and advised him that he would receive coordinates identifying the location where the shipment would be dropped within the next 48 hours. Bushby was told that his role would be to help lift the shipment from the water, secure it, and transport it back to the harbour.
The coordinates received by Beukes changed several times. He later received instructions to return to the harbour to collect another man and additional fuel. The unidentified man carried a satellite phone, which he used to confirm to someone else that he had been picked up.
The court heard that the group later located the ship. They flashed their torches toward it and received a response. The drugs were subsequently dropped into the sea and recovered. Shortly after the shipment was secured, Ninc received a call, and the group was instructed to remain at sea until further notice.
They eventually received permission to return. While en route to the harbour, Bushby explained he heard a loud bang. He then saw Ninc, who had been seated next to the last man to board the rubber duck, holding a firearm, while the unidentified man lay dead.
According to Bushby, Ninc, speaking in broken English, pointed at Beukes, Benzien and the others on board and said, “You good, you are good, you good”. He then pointed at the deceased and said, “He is not good”. Ninc allegedly threw the deceased’s body overboard, after which Beukes and Benzien cleaned blood from the boat.
Bushby told the court that he was terrified and feared he might be next. He said he had not known that Ninc was carrying a firearm and had no knowledge of any plan to kill the deceased.
The group returned to the harbour on the evening of July 19, 2024, after spending the day drifting at sea. Bushby was instructed to drive an SUV towing a boat trailer, while Ninc and another man travelled with him toward Jongensfontein.
Police later stopped the vehicle, but Bushby and Ninc jumped out and fled on foot. They went to a guesthouse in Still Bay hoping to spend the night there, but police arrested them later that evening. Bushby never received any payment for his role in the operation.
He further stated that he later learned that Smith had died in what was believed to be a suicide.
The group appeared in the Western Cape High Court on Friday for pre-trial; however, the matter had to be postponed for further particulars to be forwarded to the new legal representatives of Vukovic and Fourie.
The matter was also postponed for a Serbian interpreter.
The case is expected to resume on August 28.
IOL