WATCH | Versace, guns and dollars adorn coffins of Durban family killed in 'drive-by' shooting

An alleged Chatsworth drug kingpin, his wife and nine-year-old daughter — all killed in a drive-by shooting last week — were laid to rest on Sunday in custom-made coffins depicting their extravagant lifestyle.

Brandon Kalicharan, his wife Jeconiah Pillay and their daughter Jecaida, came under fire in Peters Road, Springfield, last Tuesday while shopping for décor for the little girl's birthday celebration.

She would have turned 10 on Sunday, the day she was buried with her parents at the Mobeni Heights cemetery.

At the time of the incident police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said preliminary investigations suggested Kalicharan was allegedly involved in drug and gang-related activities in Chatsworth and was a person of interest in some cases being investigated by the Hawks.

Videos posted on social media platform TikTok captured the grand send-off given to the Kalicharans which included Rolls-Royce hearses.

Pinetown Funeral Services, which facilitated the three funerals, posted a short clip showing one of the coffins embellished with the couple's images kitted out in furs and diamonds. Guns, dollar bills and their designer brand of choice, Versace, also adorned their coffins.

Their daughter's coffin was decorated with pictures of her, unicorns and panda bears.

A spokesperson for Pinetown Funeral Services told TimesLIVE the family had requested the coffins be wrapped with the images.

“They provided the images and we commissioned someone to do it.

“The costs depend on what pictures you want to use and what graphics you want.”

He said he could not disclose the cost of the funeral. However, a source close to the funeral home said it cost close to R300,000.

The wrapped coffins grabbed the attention of social media users.

One Facebook user posted: “I visited family today and the Kalicharan family funeral was on — they had already watched it so I saw a snippet or two and gosh ... just when you think you’ve seen it all caskets with Versace and guns?

“I guess I haven’t watched or been to many funerals in my life ... because I had no idea that it was such a fashion statement/status quo.”

Another said: “I would have spent this money, not on my fancy coffin but fed the poor and given it to my family coffin will rot ...”

“Who designed these coffins ... come to the front of the class,” a TikTok user said.

“It's all just a show, in the family's eyes it's a good send-off, but the dead don't see anything.”

According to media reports Kalicharan was charged for the alleged 2008 murder of Gerald Arumugan, believed to have been part of a gang known as the Dre-Boys. Arumugan was killed in a drive-by shooting in Chatsworth.

TimesLIVE

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