Ex-wife of alleged perly boss gets bail

[caption id="attachment_156301" align="aligncenter" width="500"] IN CUSTODY: Morne Blignault. Picture: Supplied[/caption]

As the former wife of an alleged perlemoen kingpin was released on R20 000 bail yesterday, two alleged members of a separate syndicate appeared in a courtroom next door.

Marshelle Blignault, 40, the ex-wife of Port Elizabeth businessman and former night club owner Morne, 44, of Kragga Kamma, was ordered to surrender her passport as she was released on bail in the magistrate’s court.

It is alleged she was the head of the one syndicate alongside her then husband, Morne, and Jacob Naumann Next door, the alleged leader of another syndicate, Julian Brown, 29, of South End, made a brief appearance alongside co-accused Eugene Victor, 30, of North End.

They were remanded until next Friday, for a date for a formal bail application to be arranged.

Brown, Victor, Morne Blignault, and several others were arrested during pre-dawn raids by members of the elite Hawks unit on their Port Elizabeth homes earlier this week.

They all face charges which include racketeering. Morne Blignault and the alleged members of his syndicate – Frederick Nance, 24, of Woodlands, Willie Nance, 56, of Woodlands, Jacob Naumann, 34, of Loerie, Petrus Smith, 31, of Sydenham, Huang Zhenyong, 31, and Pan Kekun, 52, – appeared in the St Albans Prison Court on Wednesday.

All except Zhenyong and Kekun will apply for bail on Thursday.

The Chinese nationals are already in jail for operating an illegal processing plant on Oliphants Kop Farm in Motherwell, allegedly leased in Naumann’s name.

They were bust in 2014 with perlemoen wor th more than R5-million. Meanwhile, more arrests are imminent with regard to the alleged multimillion-rand enterprise headed up by Brown.

The prosecution alleges Brown and Victor managed the operation or activities of the alleged perlemoen enterprise