Cele hails police at first court appearance of Cape Town gang boss Nafiz Modack
Police Minister Bheki Cele has hailed the arrest of prominent businessman and underworld figure Nafiz Modack.
Modack was arrested last week alongside Ricardo Morgan and Jacques Cronje on charges of attempted murder, extortion, kidnapping and intimidation.
The trio made their first appearance at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Some of the charges relate to an attempted hit on Cape Town lawyer William Booth outside his home.
Cele attended the suspects first appearance.
“These arrests are only the beginning of police efforts to take down organised crime in the province. Clamping down such criminal syndicates remains an ongoing exercise and such arrests show that police are up to the task,” Cele told journalists outside the court house.
“It is pleasing to see the progress made by the task team that has been roped in from national, to crack this case and other cases linked to organised crime. With the extra resources that have been pumped into fighting crime in this province, I am sure that one day we will normalise this province, one step at a time.”
Authorities have not dismissed the possibility of linking the trio to other crimes.
“As investigations into the activities of the criminal underworld continue, the possibility of the trio being linked to other serious and violent crimes is eminent.”
Cele also welcomed the arrest of a police officer accused of leaking information to criminals in the province.
The 39-year-old member attached to the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) was arrested over the weekend.
Cele added police take no exception to crime.
“Being a police officer is an honourable job but if you choose to side with criminals then you are no longer one of us,” Cele said.
“It was his choice for this member to work with the underworld against his own colleagues and if found guilty, he must live with the consequences of his alleged criminal acts.”
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