CAPE TOWN - The trial of alleged drug kingpin and former bank manager Raed Cupido has started in the Cape Town Regional Court, but the proceedings are being kept behind closed doors.
The media has been barred from covering Cupido’s plea and plea explanation, with the court citing concerns about witness testimony and security.
Cupido’s lawyers say he fears for his life following the murder of his former co-accused, who had turned state witness.
READ: Former Standard Bank manager on trial for guns, cocaine
Cupido was arrested in June last year with kilograms of drugs and several illegal firearms.
Christopher Carelse was charged alongside Cupido.
The two were said to be part of a global cartel bringing cocaine into South Africa.
READ: Crime crisis | State says bank manager, co-accused part of syndicate
In May this year, Carelse turned state witness, and the charges against him were withdrawn.
But he never made it to trial.
Two weeks later he was hunted down and died in a hail of bullets in Kensington, Cape Town.
No arrests have yet been made.
- eNCA’s Ayesha Ismail reports.