Can you believe it
now they want to take the Huey away
From the Cape Argus:
Businessman fights arrest warrant
May 24, 2004
By Karyn Maughan
A high-flying Cape Town businessman has applied for a Cape High Court order forcing police to tell him why he faced impending arrest.
Gary van der Merwe, the former chief executive of
WorldOnline, Wealth International Network and Wellness International Network, who is currently involved in the Huey Extreme Club, brought the urgent application to the high court on Thursday last week.
In papers before the court, Van der Merwe said his Johannesburg attorneys received a call from one Senior Superintendent M Cloete on Wednesday last week. During the call, Cloete informed the attorneys' secretary that the police had a warrant for Van der Merwe's arrest and the search and seizure of a helicopter "which he believed to be under my control".
Van der Merwe maintained that the helicopter in question in fact belonged to Helicopter and Marine Services.
Cloete asked that Van der Merwe report to Customs House at the Waterfront this morning, from where he would be arrested and taken to court.
According to Van der Merwe, Cloete indicated that the complainant in the case against him was the Civil Aviation Authority.
After communicating with his Cape Town advocate, Pete Mihalik, Van der Merwe said the police declined to furnish him with the warrants for his arrest until this morning.
"I do not know in terms of what Act or what Section I will be charged and ... have no idea on what grounds (Cloete) is relying to arrest me."
Van der Merwe argued that he had the right to "be informed of the exact nature of the charges against me and why I am going to be arrested and detained; prepare my case and defence for a bail application; challenge the lawfulness of my imminent arrest and detention and the search and seizure".
He further denied that he was guilty of any offence and said he believed that the CAA was using the criminal courts to "pursue a civil remedy" - after two failed civil cases against him in the high court.
In an order reached by agreement, the police handed over copies of the warrants for Van der Merwe's arrest and the seizure of the helicopter, while Van der Merwe promised to report to the police for arrest tomorrow morning.
l Van der Merwe first hit the headlines in April two years ago, when two of WIN's helicopters were involved in a mid-air collision at the V&A Waterfront.
The assets forfeiture unit returned R1.15m in cash to Van der Merwe last year, after the unit failed to file the paperwork necessary to have the money - discovered by police at Cape Town International Airport - forfeited to the State.
The money was transported by Johan Blignault, Van der Merwe's former business associate, in two bags and a box and was supposed to be delivered to Johannesburg businessman Jacobus van Heerden as payment for a life policy in March 2002.
Van der Merwe and Van Heerden denied any wrongdoing.