The man accused of swindling Umrah pilgrims out of over R1.2 million has been sent to the mang and is now also wanted by authorities in Saudi Arabia.
Shahied Davids, 58, made his first appearance at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court yesterday after his dramatic arrest at the Cape Town International Airport on Sunday.
More than 30 Muslim pilgrims reported that they had each paid Davids’ New Age SA Travel and Tours over R35 000 to go on Umrah in December.
However, when they arrived at Cape Town Airport airport on 27 December, they found that their flights had been cancelled without receiving any notification.
Davids said at the time: “I can confirm that no flights were cancelled by me. [The] number of passengers affected is 34. This I’m discussing with our flight agent and will revert to you soonest.”
Davids was arrested earlier this week after he was met by angry victims when he landed at Cape Town airport from Doha on Sunday.
Videos of the crowd attacking him went viral on social media, with people labelled him a “skelm”, before police whisked him away for his own safety.
Davids, dressed in a navy blue tracksuit, appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday since his arrest at the Grassy Park Police Station.
During the court proceedings, the state indicated that the travel agent is being charged with only two counts of fraud, however, more than 20 cases with the same modus operandi are being prepared by the investigating officer.
It was also revealed that he is being sought after by authorities in Saudi Arabia for operating under false pretences.
The state requested that Davids be remanded in custody, deeming him a flight risk due to his knowledge of the travel industry, the potential of witness intimidation, as well as the possibility of influencing victims to withdraw charges by promising them refunds.
The state also claimed that being behind bars is for his own safety as it will disturb the peace within the communities and he could end up being hurt.
The state also made note of the fact that there is a probability that if Davids were to be released, he might destroy evidence in the case.
The case was postponed to Friday for a formal bail application.
Outside court, one of Davids’ alleged victims, a 38-year-old woman from Athlone, said on the day of their departure, Davids told her that there were some complications with the bookings just to change his mind 30 minutes later.
She claims: “I was on a video call with someone that was with him in Medina and he said I should go to the airport.
“When we got there, our names were deleted from the system. We tried calling him but he didn’t answer any calls.”
The angry victim added that she trusted Davids as she has previously made use of his travel agency.