CIA or FBI ‘staged’ murder of Cape Town botanists‚ says murder accused

26 April 2018 - 07:00 By Jeff Wicks
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Horticulturalist and BBC presenter Nick Bailey posted this selfie with British couple Rod and Rachel Saunders on February 8. The couple have since gone missing in a case linked to terror group Isis.
Horticulturalist and BBC presenter Nick Bailey posted this selfie with British couple Rod and Rachel Saunders on February 8. The couple have since gone missing in a case linked to terror group Isis.
Image: Nick Bailey via Twitter

Alleged Isis acolyte and murder accused Sayfudeen Aslam Del Vecchio claimed on Wednesday that the kidnapping and murder of Cape Town botanists Rod and Rachel Saunders may have been staged by the CIA or FBI.

Del Vecchio was speaking in court where he‚ along with his wife Fatima Patel‚ and a boarder‚ Ahmad Jackson Mussa‚ are alleged to have kidnapped the elderly couple in February while they toured KwaZulu-Natal.

Mortal remains of Rod Saunders were found on the Tugela River banks and identified using DNA profiling.

The trio are alleged to have drained the Saunders’ bank accounts and then murdered them before dumping the bodies from a bridge into the crocodile infested river.

The prominent botanists‚ who have lived in Cape Town for about 30 years‚ were last seen on February 10 near Bivane Dam on the outskirts of Vryheid in KZN.

Del Vecchio made the claims of the hidden hand in an affidavit placed before the Verulam Regional Court as he and Patel make a bid for bail.

“There is no evidence of the kidnapped couple and to stage something like this is not a task unknown to agencies like the FBI and CIA‚” he said.

Del Vecchio went on to turn on his former friend Mussa‚ also known as “Bazooka”‚ accusing him of being a secret agent.

“I am now beginning to believe that Bazooka may have been an appointed agent to establish evidence against my wife and I‚ resulting in the current arrest‚” he said.

TimesLIVE previously reported that startling allegations that the vanished couple may have been stalked as a “good hunt” by Del Vecchio and Patel‚ apparently to "strike fear into the hearts of those opposed" to Isis‚ had been before court.

The evidence‚ the police alleged‚ had been gathered by combing through messages on phones seized from Del Vecchio and Patel.

Del Vecchio said that he‚ Patel and Bazooka all used each other's phones and attempted to put distance between himself and police allegations that he had sent messages regarding the “hunting” of the Saunders’s.

“I can only believe that these messages were placed on the various devices in order to implicate my wife and I in the charges that are now being trumped up against us.”

On evidence that a GPS device belonging to the Cape Town couple had been found at his home‚ Del Vecchio said that it was likely planted by Bazooka who had been staying with him while being treated for “witchcraft”.

“I was not aware of a GPS device belonging to the Saunders on my property. I can only assume that Bazooka returned to the property and placed it when it could be conveniently found in order to implicate my wife and I in some sort of kidnapping‚” he said.

Patel and Del Vecchio face charges of murder‚ kidnapping‚ robbery and contravention of domestic counter-terrorism laws.

According to an affidavit deposed by investigating officer Anuresh Lutchman‚ the pair had worked in close concert with Mussa‚ who lived on their property on the outskirts of Eshowe.

To stage something like this is not a task unknown to agencies like the FBI and CIA.

According to evidence gathered from examining cell phones and other electronic devices seized during the course of their arrest‚ the trio had plotted to rob “targets” for cash‚ jewellery and equipment.

“Del Vecchio confirmed in a Telegram chat with an unknown person‚ ‘I only have one man and [a] lioness so we can only try small stuff’‚” the affidavit stated.

The key insight into what befell the prominent botanists was extracted from Mussa in a statement after his arrest.

“Mussa made a statement to the effect that he was woken up by Patel… [who] told him that they must meet Del Vecchio on the road‚” Lutchman said. “Del Vecchio was driving a Toyota [a vehicle belonging to the Saunders’] and they [Mussa and Patel] followed him until they reached the Tugela River Bridge. They assisted del Vecchio remove sleeping bags from the back of the Toyota and accused saw two heads of white people in the sleeping bags.”

Lutchman also revealed that during the police swoop on Del Vecchio and Patel’s compound they found a cell phone which had been modified to be used to trigger bombs.

“Bomb plans on how to make a cell phone detonated IED [improvised explosive device] was also found on the digital downloads of Del Vecchio.”

Arguments in their application for bail will continue on May 10.


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