THE latest evidence presented before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry revealed that police allegedly made several attempts to persuade alleged drug kingpin Bevan Loftus to hand himself over.

Lieutenant Colonel “Deena” Deendayalan Govender testified on the allegations made by Bevan’s father, Gregory Loftus.

Loftus told the commission that Govender received over R2.5m for a hit on his son.

Also read: Man shot dead in Wentworth

“The allegations made by Gregory Loftus, are definitely not true. When we were doing [investigations] on gang warfare, we were looking for Bevan Loftus (his son). I had several meetings with him in person,” said Govender.

Bevan and his friends killed in alleged police shoot-out

The commission heard that in April 2023, Bevan, a taxi boss and tow-truck business operator from The Bluff, was killed with his friends, Sihole Zondi, Michigan Hippolyte, Ryan Santos and Chase Fynn.

They were killed in an alleged shoot-out with police at a flat in Morningside, Durban. It was alleged that Bevan was linked to violent conflict in Wentworth and rival factions in the tow-truck industry.

During Govender’s testimony before the commission, he said Gregory, being a former police officer, should have brought his son to the police station.

“Every time we went to [his house], there were other houses [nearby], particularly behind his property. The father (Gregory) would come to the gate and engage us in a conversation,” said Govender.

He told the commission that he believes that Gregory was deliberately obstructing them in an attempt to give his son an opportunity to escape through the back door.

“His son would not come to our offices, but would go to Brighton Beach [police station] and threaten other commanders. During that time, we were looking for him,” said Govender.

Witness alleged that Bevan was linked to the Hollywood gang

He alleged that Gregory knew that Bevan was part of the infamous Hollywood Gang. He said there were numerous cases in which Bevan’s name repeatedly came up.

Also read: Three injured in Wentworth shooting

The commission heard that the police’s intention was to question or arrest Bevan on the cases that the police were investigating.

“His father refused to bring him [to the police]. I would leave my details all the time when I go [to their home]. I would speak to his mother, his wife, would speak to his sister-in-law. We left our details, but to no avail,” said Govender.

He denied the allegations made by Gregory that he received money to kill Bevan. He also denied that there was a rogue unit within the police that was going around the province threatening people.

Govender alleged that Gregory had an informer inside the police office

In his testimony, Govender alleged that Gregory had an informer within the police who secretly provided him with the information.

Govender said that one of the witnesses who testified, Warrant Officer Karl Sander, had complained to the commission about the same informer who also happens to be a female employee within the police.

Also read: Men sentenced for Wentworth shooting

According to Govender, this female employee was previously accused of stealing police exhibits.

He told the commission that his team investigated 150 gang-related dockets in a bid to crack down on cases linked to the tow-truck industry and drugs.

He said the investigation formed part of the anti-gang task team that was set up to probe such cases.

Govender added that Bevan was not the only person of interest during the investigation.

“In relation to Bevan, we had two cases which he was positively identified in a shooting incident with another tow-truck company, which was called Durban South Towing. So we were looking for him in connection with those matters,” he added.

The commission is expected to call on more witnesses to testify.

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