A week after drug kingpin Fadwaan “Vet” Murphy was sentenced to 18 years in the mang, he has launched an appeal claiming the State had “sloppy evidence”.
His ex-motjie, Shafieka Murphy, who was sentenced to 15 years in the prison has also appealed and the duo are now blaming his deceased sister for their crimes.
However, in a strongly-worded response compiled by Advocate Aradhana Heeramun, the State contends that they had enough to nail Murphy and his co-accused based on evidence such as cellphone, banking records and credible witnesses.
They also argued that Murphy himself did not present witnesses in his defence to prove his innocence.
Murphy, Shafieka and his business Ulterior Trading Solutions CC’s application for leave to appeal commenced at the Western Cape High Court on Monday and judgement in the matter is expected to be concluded in two weeks’ time.
Murphy, who was said to previously be worth R54 million, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment and his business slapped with a R2m fine, while Shafieka received 15 years.
His assets, which includes three properties, 14 vehicles and furniture, are set to be auctioned after it was seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit.
According to court papers, Murphy’s legal representatives argue that the court misdirected itself on factual findings, to which the State indicated it was incorrect.
Murphy claimed they were “set up” with a duplication of convictions, in which the State argued that they were never raised during the plea or trial stage.
The papers further read that Murphy’s lawyers are now attempting to push the blame on his sister, Glenda Bird, who died of cancer in 2019.
The State said: “The submission in paragraph 23 is indeed regrettable and once again a demonstration of the sheer level of desperation.
“It appears that the legal representatives of accused 1 and 6 are now shifting blame to accused 1’s deceased sister, accused 3, Glenda Bird. Unfortunately, this does not help him, since all the circumstantial evidence points to him.”