‘Vearey was told to kill me’
ALLEGED underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack has accused high-ranking cops of colluding with his slain rival Mark Lifman to carry out a hit on him.
Taking the stand for a second day at the Western Cape High Court in the helse underworld trial, in which he and 15 others stand accused of the murder of Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) top cop Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear and other crimes, Modack dropped a bombshell.
This comes amid the testimony by his former friend Mohamed Hanware, who testified as a State witness.
Hanware, who testified via an online meeting from the Middle East, was first named in the trial early last year.
The bad blood between the two former friends stems from claims by Modack that he paid Hanware R40 000 to bribe Kinnear and former cop Chesron De Vries to get his firearms back.
De Vries denied this during his testimony, saying they only got atchar from Hanware after visiting his home with Kinnear to obtain information about a high-profile kidnapping.
Bank records were shown in court by the Hawks and revealed that Modack had paid his bra over R500 000 in an alleged attempt to pay off former Head of Detectives Major-General Jeremy Vearey.
However, Hanware claimed that Modack had owed him R1.3 million and said he floused Modack into believing the money went to Vearey.
In his testimony on Thursday, Modack claimed after he and Lifman had become aartsvyande, he was informed that cops had planned to take a hit out on him.
He further claimed that in his own investigations, he allegedly established that Lifman had ordered Vearey to carry out the hit on his life.
Modack claims Hanware informed him about the plot, saying Kinnear had even told Hanware that Modack was in Johannesburg, making him aware that cops knew his whereabouts.
He said as time went on he was harassed by the AGU, who he accused of raiding his home without warrants, assaulting his staff and shooting his honde.
Modack claimed: “I paid Vearey on his request via Mohamed [Hanware]. I was present when they were on the phone. Out of fear for my family and myself.”
Modack claimed he also knew slain Hard Livings gang boss Rashied Staggie would be killed as he was warned by a friend who claimed he was close to top cops.
He says a day before Staggie was gunned down outside his Salt River home on 13 December 2019, Hanware had knowledge of the planned hit.
He added: “He told me Staggie would be shot on the day before the murder. He said it was because the police could not keep him [Staggie] under control. That is when I saw the threat was real.”
The trial continues.