Thabo Bester operated a drug and prostitution business in prison
Drugs, prostitution and money laundering were some of the services sold through a powerful syndicate that Thabo Bester was a part of.
Female prison guards were part of a prostitution ring ran by a powerful syndicate of inmates and guards – including Thabo Bester.
This is according to the Sunday Times, which reported that a leaked document compiled by the department of correctional services (DCS) revealed that those who “saw things” or raised suspicions were poisoned.
THABO BESTER AND OTHER INMATES WERE PART OF A SYNDICATE IN PRISON
The DCS document unearthed a drug trade at the Mangaung Correctional Centre, which was largely controlled by a group of cash-in-transit kingpins and other “high-profile” inmates including Bester.
The syndicate sold “drugs [dagga and high-end narcotics], cellphones, ‘boy-wife’ movements [facilitating sex between prisoners], money laundering, and prostitution [female G4S staff rendering paid sexual services to offenders]”.
Four female guards allegedly provided sexual services to inmates and G4S officials and were paid between R1 000 and R1 500.
The report also unearthed “a poisoning campaign to take out offenders who allegedly ‘saw things’ up to and leading to the Bester escape.”
However, the DCS said it cannot investigate the matter further as some aspects also relate to Bester’s escape incident, which is now before court.
BRAZEN ESCAPE AND ARREST
Thabo Bester, who is a convicted murderer and rapist, brazenly escaped out of Mangaung Correctional Centre after staging his death in a fire in May 2022.
Months after his audacious escape, Bester was spotted grocery shopping at Woolworth with his girlfriend, fraud-accused celebrity doctor, Nandipha Magudumana. The pair had been living it up at an upmarket mansion in Hyde Park.
Following a manhunt, Bester and Magudumana were arrested in Tanzania, in April 2023, while making their way to Kenya.
The couple is facing multiple charges, including murder, fraud and violation of a dead body. The trial is due to start in the Bloemfontein high court on 21 February.
