Hawks arrest diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg and wife at restaurant

Heavily armed members of the Hawks arrested diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg and his wife, Dezzi, at a Gauteng restaurant on Tuesday night on charges “which include but are not limited to fraud, money laundering, theft and racketeering”.

“A multidisciplinary operation led by the Northern Cape Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation unit led to the arrest of eight suspects, who are alleged to have been involved in a diamond investment scam,” Hawks spokesperson Brig Thandi Mbambo said on Wednesday morning.

“The operation rounded up suspects in Gauteng and North West. The suspects include a [man], who was the alleged mastermind behind the scam, and his wife.”

According to Mbambo, the arrests were in connection with “diamond investors who were scammed out of more than R4bn”.

“More arrests are imminent. The suspects are expected to appear in Bronkhorstspruit magistrate's court on Thursday,” Mbambo said.

A patron at an East Rand eatery witnessed the arrests of the Liebenberg couple.

“At about 7pm a heavily armed group, long guns and all, walked into Tonino …. They went straight to a private room. A few minutes later they came walking out with Louis Liebenberg and his wife, Dezzi, in handcuffs. A man had Louis by the arm and there was a woman with Dezzi,” the patron told TimesLIVE 30 minutes after the arrests were made.

“They did not wear uniforms.”

The patron said the Liebenbergs were frequent visitors to Tonino's.

“We have often heard the staff talk about them. If Louis and Dezzi were in a good mood they would easily tip 25% of the bill. If they were not, there would be no tip.”

TimesLIVE