In a case that is proving to be stranger than fiction, Marc Batchelor’s international links to the criminal underworld continue to surface. Almost two weeks after he was gunned down in Olivedale, Gauteng, the police have been digging underneath a surface which is concealing some very murky information – some of which has been hidden in a tractor.
Marc Batchelor: International man of mystery?
His links to the gangs operating in Johannesburg have since been well-documented. But now it seems whatever operation Batchelor was involved in has gone international. New information shared with the Sunday Times explains how the former Bafana Bafana star had his fingers in some very dangerous pies.
Australia: Police found cocaine worth R 1.4 billion hidden in a second-hand tractor Down Under. The vehicle had been imported from South Africa and police were linking the discovery to the murder of Marc Batchelor. Both incidents happened within a day of each other.
Israel: The authorities are currently investigating a disagreement Batchelor had with an Israeli businessman over a R 3.5 million debt. It has been stated that the former footballer collected the money, but never handed it over.
Serbia: As we have previously reported, Batchelor seems to have been involved with the Serbian gangs which operate underneath the radar in Johannesburg – even the way he was killed was a hallmark of the Eastern-Europeans’ preferred method of execution.
The Aussie link to a tractor
A source close to the publication believes that someone had grassed-up – or, snitched on – Marc Batchelor after they were arrested in Australia. SAPS are convinced that the late athlete was a major player in this billion-rand coke deal.
Almost everything about this investigation has been wild. Last week, a private investigator into the apparent gangland hit was nabbed for taking Batchelor’s phone from the scene of the crime, just minutes after he was shot dead. The accused has since been released by the authorities but found information had been wiped from the phone.
Before that, his seedy underworld connections were made public knowledge, particularly his involvement with the Serbs. As the police attempt to get to the bottom of this murder, they’re following a trail with plenty of curious twists and turns yet to come.
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