A Cape Town doctor has been sentenced in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in connection with the selling and distribution of scheduled medicine worth R5 million.
Bert Wolfgang Kirsten entered into a plea agreement with the State.
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Warrant Officer Zinzi Hani said Kirsten pleaded guilty to 1,198 counts for selling scheduled medicine, as well as 570 counts of money laundering, according to Section 4 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca).
“This emanates from an incident that occurred in October 2018, where scheduled medicine was seized after search warrants were executed as part of Hawks’ probe into an alleged illegal medicine distribution network involving multiple countries,” said Hani.
“Kirsten, as well as his wife, Shelly, were then arrested by the Hawks’ Saneb, together with the Wynberg Visible Policing Unit at Kenilworth Post Office after he had handed in envelopes containing scheduled medicines destined for the US.
“The couple appeared in court on charges of contravening the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act read with the Drug and Drug Trafficking Act,” Hani said.
Kirsten was granted R80,000 bail, his wife was granted R20,000 bail.
The State later withdrew all charges against the wife.
Kirsten was sentenced to eight years in jail which was wholly suspended for a period of five years on condition he is not convicted on the same offence.
The charges were withdrawn for exporting scheduled medicines.
For money laundering, Kirsten was sentenced to six years imprisonment which was suspended for a period of five years.
The court further sentenced Kirsten to three years of house arrest.
He had also been ordered to pay R5 million to the Criminal Asset Recovery Account.