The cop investigating two alleged underworld kingpins and their cohorts was called back to the witness stand on Thursday because his story did not correspond with that of the State’s star witness.
Investigating officer Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear was testifying in the Cape Town Regional Court against Nafiz Modack, Colin Booysen, Ashley Fields and Jacques Cronjé, who have been charged with money laundering and extortion, linked to a violent takeover of the local nightclub security industry.
The fifth accused, Carl Lakay, was murdered in August last year in the driveway of his Goodwood home.
The group was nabbed in December 2017 for allegedly trying to extort R90 000 from The Grand Africa Café and Beach near the V&A Waterfront.
The State’s first witness, The Grand’s brand manager, Radley Dijkers, previously admitted to perjury on the stand.
He testified that soon after making a case against the accused in November 2017, he met with their rival, controversial businessman Mark Lifman, at his home in Sea Point, where Anti-Gang Unit Captain Sharon Japhta walked in on them.
‘EXTORTION’ CLAIMS: The Grand Africa Café and Beach
Details of what had happened after this are yet to be heard in court.
On Thursday, prosecutor Mervin Meningo asked Kinnear how he came to investigate the case.
“Captain Japhta and her team were tasked by General [Jeremy] Vearey to deal with hostile (nightclub security) takeovers,” Kinnear testified.
“I wasn’t part of the operations and just checked dockets, etc. I then had a meeting with Vearey and Japhta about this extortion matter.
“I have a past of investigating gang cases. I come from gangland and I think that’s why General Vearey thought I should investigate it.”
During cross-examination, Modack’s defence lawyer, Advocate Dirk Uys, claimed the meeting was proof that the State’s star witness, Dijkers, and Lifman were colluding against his client.
EXTORTION CASE: Alleged underworld dik ding Nafiz Modack outside court.
“Dijkers says there was an extortion case involving Modack at The Grand. Lifman happens to be holding a meeting with Dijkers.
“Doesn’t that make you think there is a measure of collusion?” Uys asked, to which Kinnear replied “no”.
Kinnear admitted he had spoken to Lifman after this meeting about the extortion case while he was investigating the takeovers.
The cop then claimed that he read about Japhta walking in on Dijkers and Lifman’s meeting in newspapers as she never told him about it.
Uys then wanted to know why Kinnear spoke to Lifman about the extortion if he knew Lifman was part of the “other group”.
But Kinnear said he only found out during the course of his investigation that Lifman was also providing security to nightclubs.
“I spoke to Lifman about the bad blood between him and accused one (Modack),” he told the court.
MEETINGS: Mark Lifman
Earlier, Xhobalome Landule, an inspector from the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA), testified that the director and guards of security companies have to be registered to comply with the law.
He said cops asked him to check if the accused were registered to operate a security company on their database.
“Lakay and Cronjé (were) registered. Booysen, Modack and Fields were not registered.
“However, the system did show Booysen and Modack had applied for registration.
“There were no records of Fields ever applying,” Landule testified.
The trial continues.