Three members of the Napoleon family, denied bail following a court appearance last week, are lodging an appeal following their failed bid.
Two weeks ago five members of the family were arrested and charged with drug dealing after thousands of mandrax tablets and over R1.3-million was allegedly found in their house.
Livingstone Napoleon, 59, his wife Ingrid, 52, and their twin sons Mohammed and Marvelous, 20, were arrested on July 8 during a raid at the family’s Fynbos home.
Police also arrested a third son, Gladwin, 27, after they found money and eight packets of dagga at his Braelyn house.
The state did not oppose their bail and they were released on R20000 bail each.
The drug bust followed a six-month undercover operation by police. The state said it had audio and video evidence of police agents buying drugs from the family.
Last week the Napoleons failed to persuade magistrate Nazeem Joemath to grant them bail.
At beginning of their bail application Joemath said he needed to first ascertain which schedule of crimes the offences fell under in order to decide which rule of law to apply.
Joemath said if it was a schedule one offence the state needed to lead evidence showing why the applicants should not get bail.
However, if the offences fell under schedule five, the onus was on the applicants to say why they should get bail. Schedule five offences are of more severity than schedule one offences.
Jeomath ruled that the crimes fell under schedule five.
He found that it would not be in the interests of justice to release them on bail.
Though Napoleon had said he was diabetic and needed to be released so he could access his medication, Joemath said evidence in court was that Napoleon could still access his medication from a correctional facility while awaiting trial.
Yesterday the defence filed a notice to appeal Joemath’s decision.
In their notice, they said Joemath erred and misdirected himself in finding that the matter was a schedule five offence and in failing to take into account “sufficiently” the personal circumstances of the appellants.
The record of the bail application will now have to be transcribed and the defence will find the next available date from the Grahamstown High Court for the bail appeal to be heard. — siyab@dispatch.co.za
Napoleons to appeal against bail refusal
Two weeks ago five members of the family were arrested and charged with drug dealing after thousands of mandrax tablets and over R1.3-million was allegedly found in their house.
Livingstone Napoleon, 59, his wife Ingrid, 52, and their twin sons Mohammed and Marvelous, 20, were arrested on July 8 during a raid at the family’s Fynbos home.
Police also arrested a third son, Gladwin, 27, after they found money and eight packets of dagga at his Braelyn house.
The state did not oppose their bail and they were released on R20000 bail each.
The drug bust followed a six-month undercover operation by police. The state said it had audio and video evidence of police agents buying drugs from the family.
Last week the Napoleons failed to persuade magistrate Nazeem Joemath to grant them bail.
At beginning of their bail application Joemath said he needed to first ascertain which schedule of crimes the offences fell under in order to decide which rule of law to apply.
Joemath said if it was a schedule one offence the state needed to lead evidence showing why the applicants should not get bail.
However, if the offences fell under schedule five, the onus was on the applicants to say why they should get bail. Schedule five offences are of more severity than schedule one offences.
Jeomath ruled that the crimes fell under schedule five.
He found that it would not be in the interests of justice to release them on bail.
Though Napoleon had said he was diabetic and needed to be released so he could access his medication, Joemath said evidence in court was that Napoleon could still access his medication from a correctional facility while awaiting trial.
Yesterday the defence filed a notice to appeal Joemath’s decision.
In their notice, they said Joemath erred and misdirected himself in finding that the matter was a schedule five offence and in failing to take into account “sufficiently” the personal circumstances of the appellants.
The record of the bail application will now have to be transcribed and the defence will find the next available date from the Grahamstown High Court for the bail appeal to be heard. — siyab@dispatch.co.za
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