Teazers owner kept passports
2006-09-20 11:37
Johannesburg - Strip club owner Lolly Jackson said on Tuesday he kept his workers' passports to prevent them from "running away with a rich farmer".
The owner of several Teazers clubs countrywide is facing four charges related to alleged contraventions of the Immigration Act, including keeping the passports of workers in his office.
Jackson, 50, was released on R20 000 bail on Tuesday.
Jackson also paid bail of R10 000 for his accountant, Ricardo Fabre, 38, as he was also in possession of a dancer's passport, according to arresting officer superintendent Johnny Smith.
Police raid
Jackson and Fabre spent Monday night in the Sandton police cells after members of the Gauteng unit against organised crime raided his Sandton club.
Jackson said he could not pay his workers on Friday as police had confiscated three computers.
"They took years of work records and permits," he said at a media conference at Teazers.
Jackson said foreign dancers sometimes lost their passports.
By keeping the passports, he ensured he didn't get into trouble with the department of home affairs.
Grudge against him
Jackson said he was of the opinion that one of the dancers had something against him because he had fired her South African husband, a former employee. When she failed to turn up for work, he asked her for more than a week to fetch her passport.
"I have witnesses that one of the police members had ordered her not to answer her phone," said Jackson.
Smith said he could not comment on this.
Threatening calls
Jackson said he also believed a well-known businessman, who was
in the same industry, wanted to do him harm.
His wife Demi, 29, apparently received a late night call threatening her and Jackson also received calls on his cellphone while he was in the police cells.
Foreign women
Jackson has made no secret of the fact that he used agents to entice women from Romania, Russia and the Ukraine to come to South Africa. He said he canvassed 40% of his workers abroad.
He alleged he had been battling for two years to get a corporate work permit and that he had sued the department of home affairs for dragging their feet.
Jackson, who is of Greek origin and employs about 300 people, said at least 37 dancers had obtained work permits, while 22 more were still waiting for their permits to be extended.