The scheming of a Cape Flats couple accused of plotting a grenade attack on the home of slain detective Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear come under the spotlight at the Western Cape High Court.
On trial alongside alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack, Amaal Jantjies and her berk Janick Adonis were dealt a blow this week when her application to stop her cellphone records being admitted into evidence in the mammoth underworld trial was dismissed by Judge Robert Henney.
Henney said he would give his reasons later.
Captain Trevor Shaw of the Hawks National Task Team, assigned to investigate the murder of Kinnear, subsequently took to the stand as the State introduced seven dik arch-lever files into evidence.
Outlining the investigation, Shaw explained that cops obtained a klomp messages and telephone records on the phones of Jantjies dating back to 2019 when the couple started working with the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) to provide information regarding firearms.
In an earlier testimony, former AGU boss Major-General Andre Lincoln told Henney that each time they recovered a gun based on the information provided by the couple it was always found that the firearm was abandoned.
The duo also claimed to know the location of the gunman who killed Sergeant Donovan Prins, who was gunned down in Lavender Hill while on duty in June 2019.
But at the time of the arrest, cops discovered the firearm was the wrong calibre and the suspect could not be linked to the murder.
It is understood that Jantjies and Adonis tried to assist the elite police unit and in turn wanted senior cops to help them obtain bail for Adonis who was on trial at the Khayelitsha Priority Crimes Court at the time.
Shaw revealed that the couple’s scheme went a lot deeper, saying that when they did provide information about guns, they had in fact bought those firearms from an associate of Modack, known as Andre Fabing.
Text messages between Fabing and Jantjies showed they used references such as ‘pens’ and ‘sandwiches’ when referring to the guns.
Shaw piemped the duo and explained that during the investigation he uncovered that each time they allegedly bought a firearm and placed it for AGU to find, the timing coincided with when Adonis would appear in court.
The detective also revealed that Modack had provided a white BMW for Jantjies to skud in and in a voice note played in court she is heard complaining that the car’s warning liggies kept flashing and that the front wheels were “klaar”.
The trial continues.
monique.duval@inl.co.za