CONVICTED drug kingpin Fadwaan "Vet" Murphy was dealt another blow after he was slapped with an eight-year sentence for tax fraud by the Bellville Magistrates Court.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, says the man who was convicted on an array of charges several years ago linked to the drug trade on the Cape Flats was sentenced to eight years direct imprisonment or a fine of R48 000 as the court convicted him for failure to submit Income Tax returns for himself and his company.
He says on Thursday, the court sentenced Murphy on 16 counts of failing to submit Income Tax Returns for himself and his company, Ulterior Trading Solutions CC.
Ntabazalila said: "On each count, he was sentenced to R6 000 or 12-months direct imprisonment with half suspended for five years on the condition that he is acquitted of the above offences during the period of suspension.
"His effective sentence is R3 000 or six-months direct imprisonment per count, which amounts to R48 000 or 8-years imprisonment."
Vet is already serving an 18-year straf after the Western Cape High Court convicted him on a count of managing an enterprise conducted through a pattern of racketeering activity.
This includes a count of conducting or participating in the conduct of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity, a count of receiving or retaining property derived from or through a pattern of racketing activity, 139 counts of attempt to deal in drugs, a count of dealing in drugs and 73 counts of money laundering.
The court also fined him R2m after the State successfully argued that his drug dealing came from his greed for money and power and that his actions destroyed communities and the people living in them.
Ntabazalila says the registrar of the court has been ordered to issue a warrant to the Sheriff of the court, authorizing and directing him to recover the amount of the fine.
In the plea and sentencing agreement in this fraud case, Advocate Conrad Heydenrych described Ulterior Trading Solutions CC as a close corporation that was registered as a taxpayer with an income tax reference number.
Murphy was the sole member and representative taxpayer and Heydenrych argued that the responsibility to submit accurate tax returns to SARS is a burden that all taxpayers share.
Ntabazalila says they welcome the sentence, adding: "The NPA welcomes the sentence as it commits itself in the fight against tax evasion crimes as they have far-reaching consequences on the fiscus."