A heroin addict in need of money supplied police Captain Esmerald Bailey with tik, the Specialised Commercial Crime Court heard.
|||Cape Town - A heroin addict in need of money supplied police Captain Esmerald Bailey with the drug tik, the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville heard on Monday.
Bailey, 44, has pleaded not guilty to counts of corruption, defeating the ends of justice, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and the possession or use of drugs.
She was arrested on December 9, 2011, in a police undercover operation authorised by the Western Cape Directorate for Public Prosecutions.
The addict who supplied her with tik at the time of her arrest, Waleed Diedricks, told the court he and Bailey had lived in the same apartment complex.
He got to know her through a friend who was dating Bailey's teenage daughter.
“After a while, I started dating the daughter also, and then started visiting Bailey herself,” Diedricks testified.
“I used to do favours for Bailey, such as disposing of items that she wanted to sell, such as a mat and a TV stand.”
Asked by prosecutor Jonas Xolile what the favours were about, he said Bailey needed money, “and I thought I would help her”.
“I also got something for each deal, such as R50 or R100, and on two occasions I bought tik for her.”
Diedricks was himself given a suspended sentence last year for his part in the crime, on condition he help with the investigation and testify for the State.
At the start of Monday's proceedings, magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg warned Diedricks he had to answer all the questions truthfully, even if they incriminated him. At the end of the trial, she would rule whether his testimony was adequate, she told him.
Diedricks said he had never seen Bailey smoke tik, nor had he smoked it with her. He said he had once been arrested for possession of drugs, and had shared a cell with a man known only as Majied, who said he had a stolen police uniform which he wanted to sell.
“I informed a neighbour about the uniform, and he said he had a buyer for it.”
Diedricks said the transaction with Majied failed to materialise, and the neighbour suggested he try to obtain a police uniform from Bailey.
“My neighbour had a buyer who was willing to pay R2000 for a uniform, and the accused said she had one to sell. The buyer was willing to pay R4500 for a full uniform, that included a bullet-proof vest and ammunition.
“It was arranged for the buyer to wait for me in a car near a petrol station. The accused gave me a bag containing a uniform, a cap, and a bullet-proof vest, together with the ammunition, and I took this to the car that was waiting for me.
“The buyer first removed a plastic container with the bullets and, satisfied with the deal, he gave me the R4500. As soon as I had the money, the buyer informed me that it was an under-cover police operation, and I was arrested.”
The trial continues. - Sapa