There are two versions of events for why virtually all of Cape Town’s alleged underworld kingpins were behind bars by Friday last week.
The first is that diligent police followed up on a complaint by the Grand Cafe, at the V&A Waterfront, that it was being extorted. This led to the arrest of Nafiz Modack and four other men believed to be running Cape Town’s biggest extortion racket.
The second version suggests that when a bloody war for control of Cape Town’s nightclubs reached a stalemate and, after several assassination attempts and alleged hits failed to break it, the gangsters called the cops.
A statement by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Viljoen, of the Hawks’ anti-corruption task team, read out in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, revealed how Modack has regular contact with senior police officers.
An internal Hawks memo seen by Times Select shows how Modack even tried to contact Police Minister Fikile Mbalula 17 times between October 10 and 17, apparently without success. This included 13 text messages.
Mbalula’s spokesman, Vuyo Mhaga, said he was not aware of the calls and messages.
Read the full story in Times Select
Into the murky world of Cape Town's clubs, cops and 'underworld kingpins'
There are two versions of events for why virtually all of Cape Town’s alleged underworld kingpins were behind bars by Friday last week.
The first is that diligent police followed up on a complaint by the Grand Cafe, at the V&A Waterfront, that it was being extorted. This led to the arrest of Nafiz Modack and four other men believed to be running Cape Town’s biggest extortion racket.
The second version suggests that when a bloody war for control of Cape Town’s nightclubs reached a stalemate and, after several assassination attempts and alleged hits failed to break it, the gangsters called the cops.
A statement by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Viljoen, of the Hawks’ anti-corruption task team, read out in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, revealed how Modack has regular contact with senior police officers.
An internal Hawks memo seen by Times Select shows how Modack even tried to contact Police Minister Fikile Mbalula 17 times between October 10 and 17, apparently without success. This included 13 text messages.
Mbalula’s spokesman, Vuyo Mhaga, said he was not aware of the calls and messages.
Read the full story in Times Select